Te Ashi Meguri

[Statement]

I am more interested in the "relationships" that create the reality in front of us than the reality itself. It's about connecting everything and expressing the invisible interplay that changes them all. That day, the entanglement of hands and feet I saw at the Shunga exhibition was exactly the "relationship" I had imagined.

Over the years, Shinichi Kaneko has been exploring the visualization of invisible "relationships" that occur between people and things through drawing, painting, and sculpture. For Kaneko, the expression of hands and feet in Shunga is more emotional and sensual than the faces or expressions of the depicted characters. It's like a microcosm within the painting, where the artists of that time conveyed stories through fingertips. Since the impact of Shunga, Kaneko's imagery of involvement and interaction has been abstracted while retaining its complexity.

In this exhibition, we will showcase works heavily influenced by Shunga, focusing on the drawing series "Shunga Hieroglyphs," which depicts the entanglement of hands and feet. Additionally, we will exhibit past works such as "WAGO - Sound of Hart (2018)," which sculpted Shunga hands, and "Love Fortune 48 (2017)," which explored the forty-eight sexual positions as charms. We will also offer for sale a ZINE and merchandise created specifically for this exhibition.

[Profile]

Shinichi Kaneko

Born in 1974. Graduated from the Design Department of Tokyo University of the Arts in 1999. Completed graduate studies in the Department of Design at Tokyo University of the Arts in 2001. Major exhibitions include solo exhibitions at Gallery Miyasaka (since 2005), ANAGRA (2020), Creative Space Hayashi (2013), the Former Kondo Residence, a nationally registered tangible cultural property (2013), and Yufuin Art Hall (2011), among others. Exhibited at 3331 ART FIR (2021), Art Fair Tokyo (2016), and the sculpture exhibition "Fresh air" in the UK (2013). Installed the "Reunion Statue" of Konjiki Yasha Shuhen at Popo Art Museum in Oketo Town, Hokkaido (2022). Monthly drawings featured in advertisements for iichiko (shochu) in magazines since June 2018.