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Silence
Gallery Koyanagi
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Artists
Michaël Borremans, Ryota Aoyagi, Daichi Igarashi, Akiko Hashimoto
Gallery Koyanagi presents the group exhibition “Mu-on silence” from Saturday June 28 to Saturday August 9, 2025.
“Mu-on” refers to the absence of sound, or a state in which no sound is perceived. While a completely silent environment is impossible as long as there is air in our world, one might wonder, what kind of experience would unfold if all sound were to vanish entirely?
This exhibition presents the video work Taking Turns by Belgian artist Michaël Borremans, alongside new works by three artists, Ryota Aoyagi, Daichi Igarashi, and Akiko Hashimoto, whose practices evoke a profound sense of stillness and quietude.
Michaël Borremans’s video work Taking Turns originates from a collection of paintings titled Automat, all portraying a young girl without lower limbs. This marks the first presentation of the work in Japan in eleven years, since his solo exhibition at Gallery Koyanagi in 2014.
Bathed in a bluish-white light, a woman slowly walks down a corridor, cradling a life-sized torso, its head intact and its limbs absent. Yet no footsteps are heard, not even the faint sound of her breath. Within this realm of absolute silence, the act of turning the torso on a flat surface takes on an eerie intensity, resembling a solemn ritual. As images of the woman and the torso fade in and out of view, viewers may find themselves slipping into a strange, dreamlike state, where the line between subject and object begins to dissolve.
Ryota Aoyagi presents an installation work composed of objects that he has intuitively discovered and collected through his own sensitivities. In this iconic series, SANDPLAY, these diverse items, originating from different times and places, are meticulously arranged within a confined, square space. As the artist describes, each object is placed “in the most appropriate, most beautiful position,” resulting in a quietly ordered composition. These objects are silent, offering no narrative of the memories or histories they carry. Yet within the world Aoyagi creates, they come together in harmony, radiating a profound beauty, simply by being there.
Daichi Igarashi presents a group of still-life paintings. Traditionally, still-life is a genre that depicts “quiet, unmoving” objects, such as flowers, food, vessels, or musical instruments. At first glance, the motifs Igarashi selects, ceramic ware, animal bones, and the like, appear reminiscent of subjects often seen in classical Western paintings. However, his process is far from conventional. He begins by replicating these objects in materials such as resin, arranges them with deliberate accuracy, and photographs the resulting compositions. These photographs are then digitally collaged, and only after this elaborate process does he begin to paint. Through repeated reproduction, the motifs shift and transform, never to return to their original state. In Igarashi’s still lifes, even the irreversible passage of time and subtle transformations it brings, things that cannot be seen, seem to softly unfold, revealing what lies beyond the visible.
Akiko Hashimoto creates works that serve as delicate waypoints for a journey, guiding viewers to travel between two realms: the drawnplace and the place they stand, based on her theme, “to touch a distant place, here now.” In Hidden Box III / Waves, a scene of gently lapping waves comes into view when the viewer peers into the front of a wooden box, crafted from timber sourced from the region tied to Hashimoto’s roots. Seen from above, in the interplay of shadows cast within the box, one may glimpse the silhouette of migratory birds, one of Hashimoto’s recurring motifs. Perhaps these birds act as guides between “there” and “here.” As you encounter the intimate world Hashimoto weaves, you may sense the moment when the distance between two places dissolves into one.
On the opening day of the exhibition Saturday, June 28, a reception will be held from 5:00 to 7:00 PM with the presence of artists Ryota Aoyagi, Daichi Igarashi, and Akiko Hashimoto. At 6:00 PM, an artist talk featuring all three artists is scheduled. We warmly invite members of the press to take this opportunity to attend and cover the event.
“Mu-on” refers to the absence of sound, or a state in which no sound is perceived. While a completely silent environment is impossible as long as there is air in our world, one might wonder, what kind of experience would unfold if all sound were to vanish entirely?
This exhibition presents the video work Taking Turns by Belgian artist Michaël Borremans, alongside new works by three artists, Ryota Aoyagi, Daichi Igarashi, and Akiko Hashimoto, whose practices evoke a profound sense of stillness and quietude.
Michaël Borremans’s video work Taking Turns originates from a collection of paintings titled Automat, all portraying a young girl without lower limbs. This marks the first presentation of the work in Japan in eleven years, since his solo exhibition at Gallery Koyanagi in 2014.
Bathed in a bluish-white light, a woman slowly walks down a corridor, cradling a life-sized torso, its head intact and its limbs absent. Yet no footsteps are heard, not even the faint sound of her breath. Within this realm of absolute silence, the act of turning the torso on a flat surface takes on an eerie intensity, resembling a solemn ritual. As images of the woman and the torso fade in and out of view, viewers may find themselves slipping into a strange, dreamlike state, where the line between subject and object begins to dissolve.
Ryota Aoyagi presents an installation work composed of objects that he has intuitively discovered and collected through his own sensitivities. In this iconic series, SANDPLAY, these diverse items, originating from different times and places, are meticulously arranged within a confined, square space. As the artist describes, each object is placed “in the most appropriate, most beautiful position,” resulting in a quietly ordered composition. These objects are silent, offering no narrative of the memories or histories they carry. Yet within the world Aoyagi creates, they come together in harmony, radiating a profound beauty, simply by being there.
Daichi Igarashi presents a group of still-life paintings. Traditionally, still-life is a genre that depicts “quiet, unmoving” objects, such as flowers, food, vessels, or musical instruments. At first glance, the motifs Igarashi selects, ceramic ware, animal bones, and the like, appear reminiscent of subjects often seen in classical Western paintings. However, his process is far from conventional. He begins by replicating these objects in materials such as resin, arranges them with deliberate accuracy, and photographs the resulting compositions. These photographs are then digitally collaged, and only after this elaborate process does he begin to paint. Through repeated reproduction, the motifs shift and transform, never to return to their original state. In Igarashi’s still lifes, even the irreversible passage of time and subtle transformations it brings, things that cannot be seen, seem to softly unfold, revealing what lies beyond the visible.
Akiko Hashimoto creates works that serve as delicate waypoints for a journey, guiding viewers to travel between two realms: the drawnplace and the place they stand, based on her theme, “to touch a distant place, here now.” In Hidden Box III / Waves, a scene of gently lapping waves comes into view when the viewer peers into the front of a wooden box, crafted from timber sourced from the region tied to Hashimoto’s roots. Seen from above, in the interplay of shadows cast within the box, one may glimpse the silhouette of migratory birds, one of Hashimoto’s recurring motifs. Perhaps these birds act as guides between “there” and “here.” As you encounter the intimate world Hashimoto weaves, you may sense the moment when the distance between two places dissolves into one.
On the opening day of the exhibition Saturday, June 28, a reception will be held from 5:00 to 7:00 PM with the presence of artists Ryota Aoyagi, Daichi Igarashi, and Akiko Hashimoto. At 6:00 PM, an artist talk featuring all three artists is scheduled. We warmly invite members of the press to take this opportunity to attend and cover the event.
Schedule | Jun 28 (Sat) 2025-Aug 9 (Sat) 2025 Opening Hours Information
Opening Reception Jun 28 (Sat) 2025 17:00 - 19:00 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fee | Free | ||||
| Venue | Gallery Koyanagi http://www.gallerykoyanagi.com  | ||||
| Location | 9F Koyanagi Bldg., 1-7-5 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0061 | ||||
| Access | 2 minute walk from exit 7 at Ginza-itchome Station on the Yurakucho line. 3 minute walk from exit 3 at Kyobashi Station on the Ginza line. 6 minute walk from exit A9 at Ginza Station on the Ginza, Hibiya and Marunouchi lines. | ||||
| Phone | 03-3561-1896 | ||||
| Related images | Click on the image to enlarge it |
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青柳龍太さんの蒐集物を均整に並べたインスタレーション、特に入って奥側にある二つ目の作品が印象に残った。マッチ棒の頭薬の色々、文字の掠れたページ片、いくつかのオブジェの淡さと軽さに慎重に距離を取る石と金属の物質感。（断片的な）記憶と（それらを自由に結びつける／結びきれない）編集が平面上になされていて、かわいらしく、決して動かない映画のようだと思った。 橋本晶子さんの透明なケースを使ったインスタレーションも、箱の内外・反射・角度と複数の見方ができて面白かった。