Neiro / Harmony • 音色 EXHIBITION @ ARTS RUSH GALLERY, DAIKANYAMA

JapanNewsExhibitions • Events

May 19

Written By Patrick Gannon

This is a definition I hadn’t heard before:

har•mo•ny här′mə-nē (n.)
A relationship in which various components exist together without destroying one another.

- The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

I like that. A lot.

I’ve been searching to create a new kind of harmony with and within my cut paper art recently. Letting the disparate parts of the work speak to each other in a balanced way is one of the major goals of any piece. Creating the work without it destroying me is a fairly important step too.

The latter objective, to stay healthy and sane while making a piece of art, should be easier than it is. I’ve recently discovered that I can’t pull all-nighters the way I used to. They ravage me. Also, they turn me into an extremely unpleasantly short-tempered person to be around. Barely a hiccup when I spend most of my day toiling away by myself (and can grab a nap or three). A huge issue when there’s a wonderful 4-year old clamoring for my attention.

The secret to surviving art-making turns out to be not-much-of-a-secret-at-all: get a good night’s sleep, eat healthier, exercise. Build limber, stretchy muscles. Enjoy art-unrelated life. For example, that aforementioned 4-year old’s amazing and unceasing imagination.

The former ambition, to create balanced, meaningful work, is an ongoing journey. For this show, I made two new pieces that aren’t exactly like anything I’ve done before. The Relics series (1, 2, there’s more unposted…) of the past few years had been tentative steps in a new direction, trying to fire a novel kind of excitement in my gut.

Then, back in March, I was working on the Inoshishi (boar) art, when ZAP! I was hit with not one but two fresh ideas, two paths forward, two quite different ideas. That boar is one path. The two new pieces in this exhibition, called Flame Harmonics, is the other.

Which brings me back to 音色 • Neiro / Harmony, a really cool exhibition that I’m proud as heck to be part of, opening May 19th at Arts Rush Gallery in Daikanyama, Tokyo. There are seven of us, showing an amazing assortment of creations, from some really unbelievable pottery to paper, paintings to photography. Stop on by and check out the art!