Exhibitions 2022

“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.