“1974”
by Ken Kagami, MADSAKI, Joji Nakamura

13 May - 4 June 2016

“1974を足すと21 。
21を3で割ると7。 7,7,7 スリーセブン。”
- 加賀美 健

“おれは元気だ。お前も頑張れ。”
- MADSAKI

“この花は私です。 やっと綺麗に咲きました”
- 中村 穣二

この度、CLEAR EDITION & GALLERY では1974年に生まれた3名の作家、加賀美健、MADSAKI、中村穣二によるグループ展『1974』 を開催いたします。

1974年生れは最後のベビーブームとも団塊ジュニアとも言われ、過当競争の末自由を謳歌する者も多く、就職する頃にはバブルが既に崩壊してしまっている世代でもあります。その様な社会情勢にあった時期に生まれた3名ではありますが、現在の作家活動に至るまでの道 のりは異なり、表現方法も大きくことなります。

加賀美はスタイリストアシスタントを6年勤め、その後サンフランシスコで過ごし帰国後本格的に作家活動を始動。現在は彫刻からインス タレーション、ドローイング、パフォーマンスと幅広い作品を国際的に発表しながら自身のお店ストレンジストアも運営。MADSAKIは幼いころに家族でNYに移住、現地のアートスクール卒業後、一時はバイシクルメッセンジャーとして活動。アーティストコレクティブBARNSTORMERSへの加入をきっかけに作家活動を再開し、帰国。現在は名画を引用/模倣した作品を中心に制作しております。中村穣二も米国サンタバーバラ滞在中にアートスクールに通っていた友人やルームメイト達の影響もあり本格的に作家活動を開始。帰国後は自身の 抽象作品やドローイングだけでなく、展覧会や出版物の企画、最近ではNYを拠点としているバンドDIIVのアルバム用にアートワークを提供したりと幅広く活動しております。

経歴、作風ともに三者三様でありながら彼らに共通しているのは現代アートに対してのある種確信犯的な「捻くれた」見方と敬意、アプロ ーチとアティチュードです。歴史に紐付け付けしようと思えばレディメイドやアプロプリエーション、具体や抽象表現主義とキーワードやフ ックは多分にありますが、彼らはその重みを鑑賞者に押し付けることもなく極めて軽やかに現代美術の空気の中を泳ぎ、それぞれの方法で自身の経験や置かれてる環境、関心事をストレートに作品反映しながらも、美術のフィールドでの立ち位置を確立しています。

SNSもフル活用し海の向こうのティーンから巨匠作家までと気軽にコミュニケーションを取りながら、ファッション、音楽、アート関係なくカ ルチャーを横断的に多分に楽しんでいるのも特徴の1つと言えます。いわゆるアカデミックな正統派とは一線を画すこの3人による意識 的な「悪ふざけ」はアートコミュニティの閉塞感と排他性に対しての大真面目なステイトメントとしてとらえることもでき、自由を渇望する 人にとってのある種の希望でもあると言えます。各々の作品の良さ(面白さ)はさることながら、その表層的な意味合いにとらわれることな くこの3名やその周囲にいる作家そして起きている事を事象として捉え直すことにより美術のみでは解決できない何かが見えて来るように思います。

奇しくも1974年という同じ生まれ年をもった異なる3名のグループ展をぜひご高覧いただければ幸いです。

______

CLEAR EDITION & GALLERY is proud to announce a group exhibition “1974” by 3 Japanese artists Ken Kagami, MADSAKI and Joji Nakamura.

People born in Japan between the period of 1971 and 1974 are referred to as the 2nd baby boomer generation, generally considered as spending their youths in the wealthiest times of Japan, educated under the slogan of liberty, equality and humanity. However they also experienced the burst of the bubble economy during their late teenage years, which lead to quite a large population of dispatched workers and unemployed.  Sharing these same social backgrounds, the paths these three artists took were significantly different, but they did result in sharing similar visions.

Ken Kagami as an assistant fashion stylist for 6 years before moving to San Francisco, and started his artist career since his return to Tokyo. Currently he is known for his installations, performances and drawings along with his own shop “Strange Store” also located in Tokyo. MADSAKI was born in Osaka Japan and moved to NY in his childhood due to his fathers occupation. After graduating Parsons School of Design with a fine arts degree, he decided to step away from art and worked as a bicycle messenger for several years, before joining an artist collective the Barnstormers where he re-boots his interest and career for arts. He is currently known for portraying provocative phrases and sampling of master pieces in his works. Joji Nakamura starts his artist career deeply influenced by his friends and roommates who were art school students. He starts his career with joining these friends in exhibitions during his stay in Santa Barbra. After returning to Japan he has been both producing his own abstract paintings and drawings, along side with his curatorial practices of organizing exhibitions and publications. Recently he created art works for NY based band DIIV.

Career and style wise the three artists come from a completely different background. However they do share, in a sense a "twisted" and awkward stance, deep respect and attitudes towards contemporary art. Keywords, such as readymade, appropriation, abstract expressionism etc can be found to link their works to the context of art, though the artist themselves do not force(or even dislike) the viewers to feel such historical weight. Freed from restraints the three artists swim smoothly through the world of contemporary art, portraying through their works without hesitation, the environment, conditions and interests they each face.

With full usage of social networks and communicating with teenagers from overseas to internationally renown artists, the three share another common stance of enjoying getting themselves involved in boarder-less genres from fine art to fashion and music, easily crossing over the walls of such cultures. Far from what someone would expect from a so-called “academic” artist, the “pranks” these three portray can be considered as a serious statement against the closed and isolated domestic art-circle, and a hope for all others wishing for freedom. Aside from each of their own art works, and by viewing the activities happening around these three artists and their own community might be a hint to an answer that the so called contemporary art world can not solve alone.