The light and shadow are shaped by the sun, the water and stones formed by the earth, and the wind and rain woven by the atmosphere. Artist Rei Naito has brought forth "fundamental scenes of life" by perceiving the modest elements of nature and everyday objects that exist alongside us, revealing the scenes and elusive phenomena that often go unnoticed in our daily lives. The intricately conceived world of her artwork invites visitors to delve into their contemplation.
This exhibition began with the encounter between the Tokyo National Museum, which boasts a history of 150 years, and the architectural space and Rei Naito. Spanning over 10,000 years, Naito discovered the human spirit overlapping with the Jomon period earthenware through her creativity. Born from awe and prayer towards nature and life, she says she felt a "compassion permeating between the inner and outer realms of life" there. Each earthenware piece created out of the pursuit of life seems to convey the essence of humanity to us. Throughout the exhibition period, the exhibition room illuminated by natural light gently brings forth the intimate harmony between life and death once shared with the sun, between humans and animals, and between humans and nature.
Rei Naito's artwork, which finds life in color, stories in landscapes, and prayers in light, evokes the continuous creative endeavors that have filled our world since ancient times. Within them, one glimpses the yearning for "creation" that humans have repeated and the pursuit of "living" that connects to the present. The venue, where sympathetic resonance transcends time and space, is not just a physical space but also a place where one can feel the certainty of existence unseen by the eyes and unheard by the ears.
10 minute walk from the Koen exit of JR Ueno Station, 13 minute walk from the Main exit of Keisei Ueno Station on the Keisei line, 15 minute walk from exit 7 at Ueno Station on the Ginza and Hibiya lines.
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