Monthly Archives: April 2019

Announcing Jonathan Reid Sévigny’s Exhibition “A View of Uranus from the Rose Garden. “

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We are pleased to announce an exhibition A View of Uranus from the Rose Garden. by Jonathan Reid Sévigny on April 25(Thu.) to 27(Sat.), as a result of his activity during his stay at Studio Kura.

Montreal-based artist Jonathan Reid Sévigny is interested in pop culture and its intersection with queer politics, while at the same time using the specifics of his upbringing to inform certain regional references embedded in his work. Mediums such as drawing, painting, sculpture, video, performance and installation alike are used to create a complex web of experiential references that together create an ever-evolving meta-fiction.

Here are some words from the artist himself.

This collection of drawings and guache paintings explore what is said and what is seen when we look at popular art and its position in society. As queer artists – Are we smuggling our identities into the mainstream? These works are an exploration of what can interpreted as queer content and the contradicting social structure that they exist within. I’ve navigated my way through the pricks the rose garden and I’ve set up my telescope. I can finally gaze upon all of the beauty in the universe, but I’m struggling to get a clear focus of Uranus.

AJonathan Reid Sévigny “A View of Uranus from the Rose Garden.”
Exhibition style: drawing + painting

Date: April 25 (Thursday) to 27 (Saturday), 11:00 to 18:00.
* We will hold an artist talk on 27th (Sat.), starting at 15:00.
* The exhibitions by other current residence artists will be held at the same exhibition periods.

Announcing Aafke Bouman’s Exhibition “A person’s post”

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We are pleased to announce an exhibition A person’s post by Aafke Bouman on April 25(Thu.) to 27(Sat.), as a result of her activity during her stay at Studio Kura.

Aafke Bouman (1994, Amsterdam, Netherlands) graduated from her Bachelor of Arts, Illustration at the HKU in 2017.

Within her imagery there is always a nomadic element to be found, both within the meaning and content as well as her way of working. The way she conjures images consists of an interplay between her own observations and its translation towards her illustrative works – here, documentation and fiction come together.

In her work Aafke has been exploring Itoshima’s historical narratives.
By doing so the artist wants to bring back the visual elements used in these Old Story’s and turn them into a new aesthetic experience.
Combining her historical research and her own documentation of the city of Itoshima, she wants to tell a story that has not yet been told, here fiction and documentation come together.

Aafke Bouman “A person’s post”
Exhibition style: Illustration

Date: April 25 (Thursday) to 27 (Saturday), 11:00 to 18:00.
* We will hold an artist talk on 27th (Sat.), starting at 15:00.
* The exhibitions by other current residence artists will be held at the same exhibition periods.

Announcing Bram Chilton Smiley’s Exhibition “Kuroshio”

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We are pleased to announce an exhibition Kuroshio by Bram Chilton Smiley on April 25(Thu.) to 27(Sat.), as a result of his activity during his stay at Studio Kura.

Bram Chilton Smiley is a communication designer and illustrator living in the UK. His drawings often reference geographical features and landscapes in a monochromatic colour scheme that consider light and shadow and form his minimalistic style. He graduated from Norwich University of the Arts in 2018 and has since been developing his creative practice, combining the more expressive nature of his drawing with the structure of his design work.

The Kuroshio Current runs along Japan’s east coast and splits into the Tsushima Current that travels through the Sea of Japan. These currents carry warm subtropical waters that support the diverse marine life as well as acting as a gateway to the country. Bram’s project explores the visual language of graphs and charts that depict these ocean currents, studying the natural shapes in the movement of water.

Bram Chilton Smiley “Kuroshio”
Exhibition style: Installation

Date: April 25 (Thursday) to 27 (Saturday), 11:00 to 18:00.
* We will hold an artist talk on 27th (Sat.), starting at 15:00.
* The exhibitions by other current residence artists will be held at the same exhibition periods.

Announcing Marie Heléne Boone’s Exhibition “Sea Offerings”

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We are pleased to announce an exhibition Sea Offerings by Marie Heléne Boone on April 25(Thu.) to 27(Sat.), as a result of her activity during her stay at Studio Kura.

Marie Heléne Boone is a self taught multi-media artist based in Texas. Her work has been released in multiple publications varying from the United States to Spain. She has exhibited in Munich, Paris, Indianapolis, Dallas, and Los Angeles.
Tending to focus on the technical aspect of various sculpting methods, she has found that the idea of making a three dimensional object can be an abstract concept, existing beyond the physical plane. Boone enjoys studying the symbolism behind objects, however does not formulate opinions on the allegorical nature of her work before it is fully actualized.

A multidisciplinary artist from Texas, Marie Heléne Boone explores the varying landscapes of Fukuoka. Inspired by the diverse topography, Boone creates her own immersive experience from the regions landscape. The artist has created a series of wall sculptures accompanied by light installations formed out of materials scavenged from the beach. Boone has taken these forgotten objects out of their normal context and assigned a new purpose to them, viewing these entities like relics from a distant past. Literally and figuratively, the artist aims to shed light with this installation, in hopes to create a fresh dialogue.

Marie Heléne Boone “Sea Offerings”
Exhibition style: Multi-Media/Sculptural Installation

Date: April 25 (Thursday) to 27 (Saturday), 11:00 to 18:00.
* We will hold an artist talk on 27th (Sat.), starting at 15:00.
* The exhibitions by other current residence artists will be held at the same exhibition periods.

Announcing Anu Raatikainen’s Exhibition “Wave function tree spirit”

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We are pleased to announce an exhibition Wave function tree spirit by Anu Raatikainen on April 25(Thu.) to 27(Sat.), as a result of her activity during her stay at Studio Kura.

Anu Raatikainen is a Finnish multidisciplinary artist based in Helsinki, Finland. She graduated from Finnish Academy of Fine Arts with a Master´s Degree in December 2017. Anu has been participating in many group and solo exhibitions in Finland and Sweden. She has been a deputy board member in Finnish Light Art Association from 2018 onwards. She was just granted a half a year working grant from Finnish Cultural Foundation.

Here are some words from the artist herself.

Both the video performance and translucent light drawings were inspired by the lush nature and spiritual heritage of the area.
There is a similar looking joint in the leg of a spider, a bug, in a leg of a heron, in a branch, or in a human elbow – if you look from far enough.
The video performance was filmed on the sacred island of the Hakojima shrine.

Anu Raatikainen “Wave function tree spirit”
Exhibition style: Mixed media / Series of translucent light drawings and a video performance combined with 3D-animation

Date: April 25 (Thursday) to 27 (Saturday), 11:00 to 18:00.
* We will hold an artist talk on 27th (Sat.), starting at 15:00.
* The exhibitions by other current residence artists will be held at the same exhibition periods.

Announcing Fongyee Ng’s Exhibition “Take Heart”

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We are pleased to announce an exhibition Take Heart by Fongyee Ng on April 25(Thu.) to 27(Sat.), as a result of her activity during her stay at Studio Kura.

Fongyee Ng is a multidisciplinary artist working mostly with technology and kids, and sometimes both at the same time. She graduated from Central Saint Martins with a degree in Graphic Communication Design.
She believes in learning through play and her work, which is highly collaborative in nature, constantly seeks to activate dialogue between people, objects and spaces.

Here are some words from the artist herself.

A site-specific installation set in the heart of the tatami room, exploring the form and movement of bamboo (竹, Take).

Fongyee Ng “Take Heart”
Exhibition style: Mixed Media Installation

Date: April 25 (Thursday) to 27 (Saturday), 11:00 to 18:00.
* We will hold an artist talk on 27th (Sat.), starting at 15:00.
* The exhibitions by other current residence artists will be held at the same exhibition periods.

Announcing Luke Garrett’s Exhibition “Umetatechi”

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We are pleased to announce an exhibition Umetatechi by Luke Garrett on April 25(Thu.) to 27(Sat.), as a result of his activity during his stay at Studio Kura.

Luke Garrett is a photographer and visual artist originally from Melbourne, Australia and is currently based in Tokyo. Graduating from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Fine Art in 2018, he received the Kayell RMIT Print Imaging Practice Graduate Award. He has previously been awarded the Vanguard Best Architectural Work for the CCP Salon 2015 and was featured in The Best Australian Photos of 2015 for The Guardian Australia.
Luke’s work has been exhibited across several group shows in Australia and internationally and his work has been featured in a number of publications.

Umetatechi, meaning ‘reclaimed land’ is a new series from Luke Garrett that explores the practise of land reclamation across Japan. Using found imagery of redeveloped sites, Luke has manipulated these scenes through a process known as pixel sorting, which renders these landscapes in a new dimension.

Luke Garrett “Umetatechi”
Exhibition style: Electronic imaging

Date: April 25 (Thursday) to 27 (Saturday), 11:00 to 18:00.
* We will hold an artist talk on 27th (Sat.), starting at 15:00.
* The exhibitions by other current residence artists will be held at the same exhibition periods.

Announcing Cho, Hui-Chin’s Exhibition “A Poetic Spendthrift”

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We are pleased to announce an exhibition A Poetic Spendthrift by Cho, Hui-Chin on April 25(Thu.) to 27(Sat.), as a result of her activity during her stay at Studio Kura.

Cho, Hui-Chin finished her Bachelor of Fine Art degree at Slade School of Fine Art in 2018. She graduated with first-class honours and made the dean’s list. Having grown up in a multicultural country, she prefers to use an amalgam of materials, especially vintage or antique materials, to prompt philosophical dialogues about the distortion of subject matter and abstract motifs, especially the grotesque iconography of babies as the motif sustains her work.

Here are some words from the artist herself.

My works are the postulate which is that painting, sculpture, photography are the same manifestation,
since they are identifiable in the ambitious depiction of concrete dimensions, and such ambiguities could be conveyed into a variety of compositions and motifs.
Materiality is an important facet to my works, notably objects which are antique, vintage or expired, which could correlated with existence between life and death.
Through my work, I intend to reflect on conflicting phenomenon, namely the inevitable relationship between obsessions and humanity.

Cho, Hui-Chin “A Poetic Spendthrift”
Exhibition style: Painting and Collage

Date: April 25 (Thursday) to 27 (Saturday), 11:00 to 18:00.
* We will hold an artist talk on 27th (Sat.), starting at 15:00.
* The exhibitions by other current residence artists will be held at the same exhibition periods.

Announcing Adrian Jing Song’s Exhibition “Shimmering Through The Walls; A Frozen Crescendo”

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We are pleased to announce an exhibition Shimmering Through The Walls; A Frozen Crescendo by Adrian Jing Song on April 25(Thu.) to 27(Sat.), as a result of his activity during his stay at Studio Kura.

Adrian Jing Song is a multidisciplinary artist based in Melbourne, Australia. Currently he is fascinated with themes concerning lingering pain, underlying tension and societal anxiety.

With a background in film studies, music journalism and sound production – he can often be found reading ghost stories or listening to nineties pop music. He is also quite the NBA basketball enthusiast.

Here are some words from the artist himself.

Within the walls of a house, new moments are constantly being lived and experienced. Through installation, drawing, photography and mixed media, this collection of work observes and contemplates the unknown history of a dwelling place. “Shimmering Through The Walls; A Frozen Crescendo” is a celebration of the unseen narratives that take place in our everyday lives. Untold stories that occur within the walls of our homes, kept safe from public view.

Adrian Jing Song “Shimmering Through The Walls; A Frozen Crescendo”
Exhibition style: Multidisciplinary

Date: April 25 (Thursday) to 27 (Saturday), 11:00 to 18:00.
* We will hold an artist talk on 27th (Sat.), starting at 15:00.
* The exhibitions by other current residence artists will be held at the same exhibition periods.