EXHIBITIONS

Tokyo international gallery to present “BEGINNING of WORSHIP – First Beheld the Blue -,” a solo exhibition of new works by artist Sakiho Ito

Tokyo International Gallery (Shinagawa, Tennozu) will present “BEGINNING of WORSHIP – First Beheld the Blue -,” a solo exhibition by Sakuho Ito. She creates vivid works of art that evoke nature using rusty Japanese paper produced by her own method of nucleus making, which she has researched and developed herself. Her work has been exhibited in collaboration with corporations and collected as public art in a newly opened luxury hotel in Tokyo. In recent years, she has been connected to the Shinto philosophy of respecting nature and life, and has been engaged in a residency program to “connect the land with the people,” while interacting with the people and nature of the region. “Worship of Life”, a votive offering to Izumo Taisha Shrine. This was an opportunity for her to continue to explore the concept of “worship” as an expression of life, and to incorporate the local soil and sand into her artwork, which she dedicated to the shrine as a homage to the lives of the local people. In this exhibition, titled “The Beginning of Worship – First Beheld the Blue,” deep blue envelops the entire gallery space and expresses Episode 0 based on the “awareness” Ito gained in Izumo. Ito’s major works, both old and new, will be gathered in one place. We hope you will enjoy the works that are the starting point of Ito’s ongoing challenge for new expressions using Japanese paper.

―Artist Statement―

Last year, during my residency in Izumo and the subsequent dedication of my work to Izumo Taisha Shrine, I realized that all the acts of expression I have pursued as art until now have been acts of “worship.” And when creating series such as “Overlap” and “Water Pollution,” I was strongly drawn to the color “blue.” The reason for this recollection lies in a dialogue with childhood memories. Through a dialogue with the sky, I encountered color for the first time when I played a game of disassembling myself into small particles and blending with the particles of oxygen and water. I acquired the “blue” that encompasses myself, the sky, and everything around me. In this exhibition, I nostalgically recall this “beginning of worship” and express the spiritual world of blue.