"Lyrical Drama"
Akiko Kamiyama

Akiko Kamiyama

Bambinart Gallery is pleased to present "Lyrical Drama", a solo-exhibit by Akiko Kamiyama.

Akiko Kamiyama (born in Tochigi Prefecture in 1988) has specialized in block prints from her second year at university resulting in a series of works called “It passes” created through etching and dry point at the time of her graduation from graduate school. Although at first glance, this work appeared to be filled merely with ink-drawn dense monochrome, the work was actually a lyrically abstract combination of both the concrete and the abstract. These various scenes, painted with emotive line drawing, were played out within a background of fin-de-siecle decadence, recalling Tachisme (the French school of abstract painting popular in the 1940s and 1950s).

Although, when compared to the copperplate prints of her previous series, many of the drawings that are the focus of the current exhibition are conversely colourful, they definitely do not leave a bright and cheerful impression. Kamiyama’s work largely expresses scenes that don’t just show how we actually see things with our own eyes but expand the breadth of the image depicted - adding a lyrical layer that doesn’t actually exist. The people that are depicted in these images are shown doing simple tasks such as sitting down or being in the company of other people or hanging up washing to dry. Although the images are colourfully expressed, the lack of clear facial expression among the people depicted means that it is difficult for the observer to feel emotion from them, creating a profound sense of disquiet.

While the new copperplate block and woodblock drawings presented in this exhibition draw on people doing everyday tasks, the artist’s inadvertent discovery of the essence and universality of the things she is depicting is a core theme running through this body of work.

We very much encourage you to come and see the exhibition.