“Tokyo Exhibition” by “Oni Daimyo” Kengo Kito, Daisuke Oba, and Kohei Nawa is currently being held

The Echoes of East Kyoto, a group exhibition by 50 Kyoto-based artists who present their works domestically and internationally, will be held at Watt Cafe in Tennozu until May 7, 2024 (Tuesday). (WHAT CAFE)”. This exhibition was planned by Onidaimyo, a curation unit made up of three contemporary artists: Kengo Kito, Daisuke Oba, and Kohei Nawa.

In addition to these three, the participants include Noboru Tsubaki, Kenji Yanobe, Toru Kamiya, Mai Miyake, Mitsuhiro Ikeda, and other contemporary artists who actively present their works while teaching at Kyoto University of the Arts, as well as their students. These are mainly young artists.

“ARTISTS’ FAIR KYOTO”, which is becoming established as an artist-led art fair in Kyoto, and “Oni Daimyo”, which holds special exhibitions at “Ginza Tsutaya Shoten”, are also members of Kyoto University of Arts’ graduate school. He has been teaching for a long time. He is extremely active in nurturing young artists and creating opportunities for them to flourish, transcending the boundaries between education and practice, university and practice, and students and professionals.

Speaking about the approximately 100 works on display and for sale, Kito said, “I am very happy to be able to introduce artists who are mainly active in Kyoto on such a large scale in Tokyo.” . Oba also said that in his 10 years of teaching, “I am honestly happy and amazing that we were able to send out so many writers into the world as graduates, and that we were able to continue to maintain connections with our own teachers.” I feel that way,” he said.

Regarding the fact that the three Onidaimyo continue to work as teachers while focusing on their writing activities, Nawa says, “We don’t feel like teachers, and we have continued to communicate as if we were fellow writers rather than students or alumni. In this exhibition, the three of us discussed the issues in consultation with the participating faculty members, and created a space where a variety of works were mixed together, similar to a university graduation exhibition.”

In addition, while touching on the group exhibition “THE ECHO” (held at ZAIM in Yokohama in 2018), which Kito planned as an artist and in which Ohba and Nawa also participated, he said, “Through this exhibition, artists can interact with each other, and artists and curators can We hope that this will be an opportunity to create connections between artists and galleries.”

Behind the continued production of artists with high potential is the unique art ecosystem that Kyoto has fostered. Although it is a compact city, it is home to several universities where you can study art, and artists’ studios are scattered in nearby areas such as Osaka, Shiga/Otsu, and Kobe. It can also be said that loose vertical and horizontal connections between artists were fostered, and art seeped into the city through numerous galleries, art fairs, art hotels, and cafes.

The venue, Watt Cafe, is an open, one-floor space with no pillars that lets in natural light. While leisurely walking around, you can experience the current state of Kyoto’s art scene to the fullest through the works of a wide variety of artists, both two-dimensional and three-dimensional. Although there are many artists participating that are difficult to obtain due to their popularity, all exhibited works are available for purchase on a first-come, first-served basis. You can check the artist’s profile and price list from the “QR code” attached to the work.

This is a valuable and attractive opportunity that was made possible because of the continuous, loose and real connections and communication that transcend generations and positions. We hope you will come and enjoy the event.

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