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Rikako Kawauchi "Softest Chain"
Kamakura Gallery
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Rikako Kawauchi
We are delighted to announce that Kamakura Gallery will host a solo exhibition by Rikako Kawauchi titled“softest chain” from November 2 to December 25, 2024. Currently, Kawauchi is holding a solo exhibition at the Van der Grinten Galerie in Germany (until October 26). In Japan, her work has been garnering increasing attention through various exhibitions, including a solo exhibition at agnès b. galerie boutique in June, our gallery’s booth at Tokyo Gendai 2024 in July, and her inclusion in the ongoing exhibition “A Personal View of Japanese Contemporary Art: Takahashi Ryutaro Collection” at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo (until November 10). The exhibition “softest chain” will feature approximately 20 new works, including paintings, drawings, and pieces made with wire and fabric.
While “body” and “food” are central themes in Rikako Kawauchi’s work, the presence of “lines” is a consistent thread throughout her pieces. These lines take various forms-raw, carved lines that emerge from thick, gradient layers of paint; quick, delicate strokes on paper that arrange slender objects; and wiry lines that leap and twist in multiple directions. Despite the diversity in materials and techniques, all of these lines share a common essence. As Kawauchi explains, “they embody both fluidity and solidification,” blurring the boundaries between self and other, body and mind, and form and meaning. Preserved on the canvas through her unique sensibility, these lines navigate those boundaries in an ambiguous, abstract way that reflects her view of the body.
Since childhood, Rikako Kawauchi has had a keen awareness of food, and this interest led to a deep exploration of the topic through the works of cultural anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss. This became the starting point for the oil painting series “Mythology”. The myths dealt with by Claude Lévi-Strauss often feature tropical plants and animals, organs, and body parts as subjects of abstract meaning and metaphor, with many themes involving a connection between heaven and earth. Rikako Kawauchi has mentioned several times that the act of drawing is instinctive for her. Her pulsating lines emerge before her mind fully catches up as if they are proof of the body’s existence. She does not begin with a fully imagined picture or a predetermined arrangement of motifs or words. Rather, her process is driven by unconscious, bodily thinking that transcends language. This approach echoes the deep connections between the unconscious and conscious found in mythology.
As suggested by the exhibition title “softest chain” and the accompanying statement, we invite you to experience a space where the individual works resonate in a gentle rhythm, constructing connections that can be discovered through their interrelation. We invite you to visit the exhibition and experience the harmony that unites these pieces.
While “body” and “food” are central themes in Rikako Kawauchi’s work, the presence of “lines” is a consistent thread throughout her pieces. These lines take various forms-raw, carved lines that emerge from thick, gradient layers of paint; quick, delicate strokes on paper that arrange slender objects; and wiry lines that leap and twist in multiple directions. Despite the diversity in materials and techniques, all of these lines share a common essence. As Kawauchi explains, “they embody both fluidity and solidification,” blurring the boundaries between self and other, body and mind, and form and meaning. Preserved on the canvas through her unique sensibility, these lines navigate those boundaries in an ambiguous, abstract way that reflects her view of the body.
Since childhood, Rikako Kawauchi has had a keen awareness of food, and this interest led to a deep exploration of the topic through the works of cultural anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss. This became the starting point for the oil painting series “Mythology”. The myths dealt with by Claude Lévi-Strauss often feature tropical plants and animals, organs, and body parts as subjects of abstract meaning and metaphor, with many themes involving a connection between heaven and earth. Rikako Kawauchi has mentioned several times that the act of drawing is instinctive for her. Her pulsating lines emerge before her mind fully catches up as if they are proof of the body’s existence. She does not begin with a fully imagined picture or a predetermined arrangement of motifs or words. Rather, her process is driven by unconscious, bodily thinking that transcends language. This approach echoes the deep connections between the unconscious and conscious found in mythology.
As suggested by the exhibition title “softest chain” and the accompanying statement, we invite you to experience a space where the individual works resonate in a gentle rhythm, constructing connections that can be discovered through their interrelation. We invite you to visit the exhibition and experience the harmony that unites these pieces.
Schedule | Nov 2 (Sat) 2024-Dec 25 (Wed) 2024 Opening Hours Information
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| Fee | Free | ||||
| Venue | Kamakura Gallery http://www.kamakura.gallery/  | ||||
| Location | 4-1-11 Kamakurayama, Kamakura-shi, Kanagawa 248-0031 | ||||
| Access | 15 minute walk from Nishikamakura Station on the Shonan Monorail line; From the East exit of JR Kamakura Station, take the Keikyu bus and get off at Kamakurayama. The venue is 1 minute walk from there. | ||||
| Phone | 0467-32-1499 | ||||
| Related images | Click on the image to enlarge it |
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