Exhibitions 2022

“The Zodiac 2023 : Rabbit, Lucky Charms and Christmas” （E）

Exhibition Date: Wednesday November 16th ~ Saturday December 3rd, 2022
Gallery Hours: Wed~Sat, 12PM~6PM Closed Sun~Tue
 
It’s time for the final exhibition of 2022. The creative theme for this year is rabbit, the Zodiac sign for 2023.
Immensely cuter than tiger, the last year’s Zodiac sign, rabbit has attracted widespread popularity in Japan since the ancient times as an animal that is seen pounding steamed sticky rice (to make rice cakes) on the moon. At the same time, as evidenced by the staying global popularity of Peter Rabbit and Bugs Bunny, it seems that rabbit is easily one of the most beloved animals not only in Japan but in the world as well.
As has been the case in the past, Lucky Charms and Christmas-themed senga works are also included in the latest reiteration of our annual year’s end exhibition. While Christmas and shogatsu, or Japanese new year, are two completely different events, they share several similarities as they are both represented by the symbolic red and green color scheme while providing gathering opportunities for people to celebrate the festivity. They also typically feature an ornate decoration.
It is our great pleasure to have you join us in this exhibition to celebrate the upcoming Christmas season and greet the new year.
Wishing you all a wonderful holiday and a happy 2023!

“My Life My Way” （E）

Exhibition Date: Wednesday October 12th ~ Saturday October 29th, 2022
Gallery Hours: Wed~Sat, 12PM~6PM Closed Sun~Tue
 
The creative theme for this exhibition, My Way, can be interpreted differently. Some may associate it with a school route from years past. Others may be reminded of a footpath surrounded by blooming flowers back home or may picture a beautiful street in a foreign land they once visited.
Still others may lean towards more abstract, notional interpretations. Life passages, the way of thinking, a path to mastering traditional Japanese art such as Shodo (the way of writing: calligraphy), Kado (the way of flowers: flower arrangement) and Judo (the gentle way: judo), etc.
Featured in this exhibition is a collection of senga that reveal each artist’s idea of road, real or abstract. With that said, many artworks we received feature an actual road as the main artistic motif. Each and every image you see in this exhibition is the realization of the “personal road” nestled within its creator.
We’d like to express our sincere gratitude to Mr. Akutsu who kindly allowed us to use her music, and Marupo-san for her video shooting, production and editing expertise. Without their cooperation, this exhibition wouldn’t have happened. I hope you will enjoy senga as not merely another form of traditional art but as motion imageries that help to expand your imagination.
Has seeing all the “roads” in this exhibition brought you back any memories? What kind of “road” are you picturing? I hope all your roads will remain in your hearts and continue on forever.
Thank you.

“Dai Dai – Orange” （E）

Exhibition Date: Wednesday August 24th ~ Saturday September 10th, 2022
Gallery Hours: Wed~Sat, 12PM~6PM Closed Sun~Tue
 
Dai dai (in Japanese) and orange (in English) are used in reference to both a color and citrus fruits. A combination of colors yellow and red – orange – is the theme for this exhibition.
At Senga Art & Space, we host a color-themed exhibition series. The colors that have been featured so far include blue, red, yellow, pink and purple among others. The theme color for each exhibition is selected to match the season it’s held. I wondered what season is best suited for an orange-themed exhibition. Orange and red evoke summer. Citrus fruits are often associated with autumn. Bright orange-colored flowers that bloom in spring… After some thinking, I concluded that it would be the citrus season, which prompted me to pick this time of the year when summer begins its slow transformation into a new season.
From the images of a big sunset and ripened fruits to flowers blossoming in profusion, we have a fascinating collection of bright and playful senga works in varying shades of orange in this exhibition.
Please enjoy the show.

“Sensho - Cut Out Calligraphy” （E）

Exhibition Date: Wednesday Jun8th ~ Saturday Jun 25th, 2022
Gallery Hours: Wed~Sat, 12PM~6PM Closed Sun~Tue
 
The word Sensho, meaning “to cut letter,” refers to senga created with cut-out letters. At Senga Art & Space, we’ve featured several sensho in the past but for this exhibition, we asked artists to create senga inspired by the word “letter.”
Japanese have been practicing the way, or the manner, of writing called shodo since ancient times. It has since inspired artists and delighted art collectors and hobbyists alike. Over time, it has also come to have many practical applications.
The artform called calligraphy can be found not only in Japan but throughout the world. It is a powerful form of art created by combining the meaning of a letter and its form.
In this exhibition, participating artists were asked to create sensho featuring cut-out letters. Whether it’s a message, a story or even just one letter, any artwork with at least one cut-out letter is included in this exhibition. Creating senga with letters being the main theme/motif brought a great deal of personality and individuality out of each artist.
The main focus here is not the artists’ handwriting dexterity or technical prowess. Rather, it’s the individual uniqueness found in their art.
Hope you will enjoy the show.

“Living with Land and Sea” （E）

Exhibition Date: Wednesday May 11th ~ Saturday May 28th, 2022
Gallery Hours: Wed~Sat, 12PM~6PM Closed Sun~Tue
 
There are places throughout the world that are recognized by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) as geoparks where one can learn about earth, feel connected with land and become familiarized with this dynamic planet. Geoparks promote protection and preservation of geological heritage while continuing to coexist with humans.
In addition to UNESCO Global Geoparks, there are National Geoparks that are recognized on the national level.
For this exhibition, we picked geoparks and lives of people who live there as the main creative theme. From the wide open sea and vast plains to a mountain range that extends into horizon, geoparks retain their natural beauty while serving as home to many people.
In senga, artists often create landscape-themed works. Typically, however, only a small portion of artists featured in our exhibitions choose to work with landscape. For “Living with Land and Sea,” we purposely asked all participating artists to focus on landscape and its people. Perhaps it presented more difficulty to the artists living in areas where there’s no sea or mountain than those who live closer to nature but with every artist giving the best of his/her creative ability, we have a great collection of unique landscape-inspired senga works.
As we continue to endure wide-ranging travel restrictions and regulations, we hope you will enjoy each artist’s interpretation of landscape and let your imagination glide over beautiful ocean and soar high above great mountains.
 

“Smile” （E）

Exhibition Date: Wednesday March 23th ~ Saturday April 9th, 2022
Gallery Hours: Wed~Sat, 12PM~6PM Closed Sun~Tue
 
Smile. It’s a commonly used word that we often say without really thinking about what it means. In reality, there are many different kinds of smiles, or smiling faces, each of which represents the person’s feelings and emotions.
A smile to greet a friend, a smile to show your support, a smile that says I love you, a faint, sad smile, a smile of resignation, a smile you flash after achieving a big goal…
We smile when we’re happy.
We smile when we’re lonely.
We smile when we’re down…
For this exhibition, I asked the artists to create smiling faces under different life-influencing situations. Perhaps we’re seeing more sad smiles these days because of the pandemic. And now there’s a threat of a new war looming large in our future…As we live in difficult times, exchanging smiles would help us all to feel hopeful for tomorrow.
It would be a great honor for the artists to bring a smile on your face through their artworks. Your smile will make the world a sunnier, brighter place.
Thank you very much.