■ What do we ponder in our hearts ? ■
I will give another try at questioning the social role of art. We are already in the 18th year of the 21st century. I have asked the question --“What is the difference between 20th and 21st century for you?”- to the people around the world, none of them has given me a clear answer which I had expected. In the past 18 years, all of them shared that they felt something was wrong; they could not have high expectations; they had a feeling of loss, but nevertheless they are climbing up one step at a time. That is how I would sum up the people’s responses. It made me realize that it was a fortunate thing that I was an artist. We do not have such booming days, but we neither have a terrible depression in the Art World.
The artists of younger generations think differently from the artists of my generation. All these artists are competing with each other in an effort to survive. However, if we cannot put to good use the knowledge we build up and nurture,and find joy in a variety of things, we cannot go forward. Let’s say that we have a stupendous file in our head, and all the memories of everything we have seen so far have been stored in it. I imagine the memories of many art works have been stored in the brain of an art lover. When he sees my work for the first time, he immediately starts looking in his file for a work that resembles it. Sometimes the process takes time. While searching in the file continues, the process of recording the new item goes on at the same time. As a matter of fact, this is a blissful moment for an art lover. Encountering an excellent piece of art is quite smoothing because this procedure that goes on in our head is so pleasant and delightful. When people encounter fine art work, people experience agreeable sensations like going into a warm bath, which all Japanese should understand. Bliss happens because the brain is activated at that moment. As an artist I aim to create works that can do that. That is what I can do as an artist. An encounter for me happens when I can travel instantaneously from the time when the earth was created 4.6 billion years ago to the current moment in which I am living, and from the time an artist of the past lived to the future. When Ican do that in my imagination, that activates my brain.
2010 I visited Paris for the first time in 25 years,and saw the Luncheon on the Grass of Edouard Manet.I wonderd what sort of year 1862 was for Manet as a backdrop for this painting, and what thought he had when he created this piece of art. The time for this musing was a pleasant moment for me. What flows within me is exactly the same as what is in all of you: numbers and world dictated by time. Wonderful encounters with something I have not yet seen may await me. There is an inexhaustible pleasure. All the encounters could contribute something positive to my work. Such belief encourages me to keep on trying. What does a wonderful work of art look like to you?
Of late, moving images are always included in the exhibitions organized by contemporary museums. It used to be 16mm or 8mm silver salt films, or Bata and VHS tapes. They were replaced by computer, DVD, and Blue Ray. The equipment has changed from cinema projectors and cathode-ray tubes to slide projectors and thin monitors. Displayed works, too, have changed from still pictures or statues to flashing works or moving ones in response to the movement of viewers. It is my view that all this change is ascribable to the incredible speed of internet which was developed with great speed in the 21st century. In the 20th century, what used to be telephone network evolved to ISDN, ADSL and then to optic fiber. As a result, complex moving pictures could be seen smoothly without a hitch just like looking at DVD images. Viewers now demand comfortable speed in anything just as fast as their fingers can tap the keys. Instead of stopping in front of a stationary object, viewers are used to walking about to observe,and when they encounter a moving object they stop and watch. This seems to me a typical attitude of viewers at a recent exhibitions. However, as I started my work from flat paintings, I have the highest concentration when I draw. When I work on paintings, I take account of recent trends, and make it a rule to provide some kind of optic illusion and games. There is a change in the trend, too. Take the automobile industry, for example. It has been competing to make fast cars, but now it is manufacturing quiet electric cars. It is also important to reevaluate the good points in old things. Such a viewpoint is also valuable. From now on, I hope to create works that can remind people how important it is to think about things slowly and leisurely. I would like to do so side-by-side with my work on creating moving images.
Iwasawa Arimichi
◼ Iwasawa stay at his studio in Kyoto Japan.
iwasawa arimichi C.V.
▶
1958 ◼ Born in Kyoto Japan.
1981 ◼ Graduated from graduate school of Kuwazawa design college. (Tokyo)
1989 ◼ Graduated from B-semi school of contemporary art. (Kanagawa)
Solo exhibition
2021 ◼ KYOTO DAIMARU + ESPACE KYOTO (Kyoto) ▶ installation view
2019 ◼ City gallery 2320 (Kobe) ▶ gallery website
2018 ◼ Gyodong Museum of Art (S.Korea) ▶ installation view ◼ 2kw Gallery（Otsu）▶ installation view
2017 ◼ Gallery ESPACE (Nagoya) ▶ installation View ◼ Orie Art Gallery (Tokyo) ▶ installation View
2016 ◼ Gallery Gen (Tokyo) ▶ installation View ▶ youtube
2015 ◼ Hebel_121 （Basel.Swizerland) ▶ installation view
2014 ◼ Oita municipal gallery （Pro：OPAM) ▶installation view
2013 ◼ Gallery SUZUKI （Kyoto) ▶ installation view ◼ Gallery Ashiya Schule （Hyogo） ◼ Gyodong Museum of Art （Korea) ▶ installation view
2012 ◼ Nagi MOCA (Okayama) ▶ installation view ▶ youtube ▶ See newspaper ▶ Art story Nagi MOCA
2011 ◼ Gallery Gen (Tokyo) ▶ installation view ▶ youtube
2009 ◼ Gallery CASO (Osaka)
2008 ◼ Igong Gallery (Daejeon／S.Korea) ▶ installation view ◼ Gallery Suzuki (Kyoto) ▶ installation view ◼ Gallery Gen (Tokyo) ▶ installation view ◼ Gallery CASO (Osaka)
2007 ◼ Gallery Gen (Tokyo) ▶ installation view
2006 ◼ Gallery SUZUKI (Kyoto) ▶ installation view
2005 ◼ Gallery CASO (Osaka) ◼ Gallery Gen (Tokyo) ▶ installation view ◼ Gallery SUZUKI (Kyoto) ▶ installation view ◼ City Gallery (osaka)
2004 ◼ Gallery Gen (Tokyo) ▶ installation view ◼ City Gallery (Osaka) ◼ White Cube OSAKA (Osaka)
2003 ◼ City Gallery (Osaka) ◼ White Cube OSAKA (Osaka) ▶ installation view
2002 ◼ City Gallery (Osaka) ◼ White Cube OSAKA (Osaka) ▶ installation view ◼ Gallery SUZUKI (Kyoto) ▶ installation view ◼ Gallery Gen (Tokyo) ▶ installation view ◼ White Cube KYOTO (Kyoto)
2001 ◼ City Gallery (Osaka) ◼ Gallery NAITO (Gifu)
2000 ◼ City Gallery (Osaka)
1999 ◼ City Gallery (Osaka) ◼ Gallery Gen (Tokyo) ▶ installation view
1998 ◼ Gallery Gen (Tokyo) ▶ installation view
1997 ◼ Gallery Gen (Tokyo) ▶ installation view ◼ City Gallery I.M. (Osaka)
1994 ◼ Gallery NW House (Tokyo) ◼ Gallery NAITO (Aichi) ◼ Gallery NW House (Tokyo)
1993 ◼ Gallery Gen (Tokyo) ▶ installation view
1992 ◼ Gallery Gen (Tokyo) ▶ installation view
1989 ◼ Gallery Gen (Tokyo) ▶ installation view
■ Iwasawa Arimichi in studio with Michael Paterniti at Kyoto 1996.
Group show ( including UNEASINESS produce exhibition )
▶ go to uneasiness past exhibition
2017 ◼ NAGI Museum night 2021 （Magi MOCA / Olayama）▶ installation view
2019 ◼ OITA ART FESTIVAL 2019 "SPIRAL" (Pr.OITA CITY) ▶ installation view
2018 ◼ UNEASINESS 16 (NAGI MOCA / Okayama) ▶ installation View ◼ ART de MEAT Nagi (NAGI MOCA / Okayama) ◼ Gyodong Museum of Art + Art Group ATTI + UNEASINESS (Gallery KITANOZAKA / Kobe) ◼ GENZAITENN (Nijyou Castle / Kyoto) ▶ installation View ◼ OPAM TOSHIOKA COLLECTION (OPAM / Oita） ◼ International Life through art Recycling story 2018 (Gangneung Arts Center / S.Korea)
2017 ◼ ART de MEAT Nagi (NAGI MOCA / Okayama) ▶ installation View ◼ OVER THE CANNEL （Gyodong Museum of Art / S.Korea）▶ installation view
2016 ◼ ADORING CONTEMPORARY ART（Oita Prefectual Art Museum）▶ installation view １ ２ ３ ４ ◼ UNEASINESS 14（2kw Gaalery / Osaka）▶ installation view ◼ UNEASINESS 15 (Gyodong Museum of Art / Korea) ▶ installation view ◼ AOSE opening exhibition (Hita city / Oita) ▶installation view 1, 2,
2015 ◼ UNEASINESS 13 / Ashitani, Iwasawa, Osawa and Matsutani Hiroko (2kw Gallery / Osaka) ◼ CHINA KOREA JAPAN ART EXCHENGE EXHIBITION (College of Art Northeast Dianli University, Jilin Province, / China) ▶ installation view
2014 ◼ Art aquarium (OOYA ART LABO / Hyogo) ▶installation view ◼ Four Artist Exhibition (LA ARTCORE GALLERY AT BREWERY ANNEX / Los Angels U.S.A.) ▶ installation view ◼ UNEASINESS 12 (2kw gallery / Osaka)
2013 ◼ Shinanobashi Gallery Collection（Hyogo Prefectual Museum）◼ Golbang Art Film Festival (Koraea) ◼ UNEASINESS11 / Ashitani, Iwasawa, Osawa & Nishikawa Shigeru (2kw Gallery / Osaka) ◼ UNEASINESS & HICA (Gallery Kitanozala / Kobe) ▶ installation view
2012 ◼ Thailand - Japan Sculpture Symposium 2012 (Chang Mai University Art Center / Thailand ) ◼ Hungary and Japan contemporary art exhibition 2012 (Gallery Kitanozaka/Kobe) ◼ Project Daejeon 2012 : Energy（Pro：Daejeon city Museum / Korea) ▶ installation view ◼ HICA & UNEASINESS (IGONG GALLERY / S.Korea) ▶ installation view
2011 ◼ MIZU VIZ / WATER (The collection of local history of ferencvaros - A38 gallery / Budapest Hungary) ▶ installation view ▶ youtube
2010 ◼ HUNGARY and JAPAN EXCHANGE EXHIBITION (Gallery Kitanozaka/Kobe - KYOTO ART CENTER) ▶ installation view ◼ OVER TONE Ⅱ (KANAGAWA PUBLIC HALL GALLERY / Kanagawa） ◼ UNEASINESS X / Masato Asitani, Arimichi Iwasawa, Tatsuo Osawa & Kayo Nomura (SINANOBASI GALLERY / OSAKA)
2009 ◼ UNEASINESS Ⅷ / Masato Asitani, Arimichi Iwasawa & Tatsuo Osawa (IGONG GALLERY / S.Korea) ◼ UNEASINESS Ⅸ / Masato Asitani, Arimichi Iwasawa, Tatsuo Osawa & Ikuko Nishimura (SINANOBASI GALLERY / Osaka) ◼ HYPER TENSION WITH UNEASINESS (GALLERY CASO / Osaka) ▶ see gallery website
2008 ◼ UNEASINESS Ⅶ / Masato Asitani, Arimichi Iwasawa, Tatsuo Osawa & Mitsunori Kurashige (SINANOBASI GALLERY / Osaka) ◼ AD LACUM FELICIS - Town of glad lake - (THE KUNY DOMOKOS MUSEUM / Tata Hungary) ▶ installation view
2007 ◼ MOVING EYES ! (GALLERY CASO / Osaka)
◼ UNEASINESS Ⅴ / Masato Asitani, Arimichi Iwasawa, Tatsuo Osawa & Yuai Iwatani (SINANOBASI GALLERY / Osaka) ◼ KOBE BIENNALE 2007 (Dir,Kobe city / Hyogo) ▶ installation view ◼ UNEASINESS Ⅵ / Masato Asitani, Arimichi Iwasawa & Tatsuo Osawa (2B GALLERY/Budapest)
2006 ◼ ART WAFERS (GALLERY CASO / Osaka)
◼ UNEASINESS Ⅳ / Masato Asitani, Arimichi Iwasawa, Osawa Tatsuo & Yoshikazu Hayasi (SINANOBASI GALLERY / Osaka)
2005 ◼ UNEASINESS Ⅲ / Masato Asitani, Armichi Iwasawa, Tatsuo Osawa & Miwa Tamura (SINANOBASI GALLERY / Osaka)
2004 ◼ FLAT PLAT (KANAGAWA PUBLIC HALL GALLERY / Kanagawa - GALLERY CASO / Osaka)
2003 ◼ UNEASINESS Ⅱ / Masato Asitani, Arimichi Iwasawa, Tatsuo Osawa & Eri Izumi (SINANOBASI GALLERY / Osaka)
2002 ◼ MEMORABIRIA (Goliath Visual Space / NEWYORK U,S,A,)
2001 ◼ UNEASINESS / Masato Asitani, Arimichi Iwasawa & Tatsuo Osawa. (SINANOBASI GALLERY / Osaka) ◼ WE LOVE OUR CUSTOMERS. (NEW YORK U,S,A, / Dir,Robbin & Andres) ◼ MITSUNORI KURASIGE ＋ ARIMICHI IWASAWA. (WHITE CUBE OSAKA / Osaka)
2000 ◼ CONTEMPORARY ART FROM GALLARYS' 2000. (OSAKA CONTEMPORARY ART CENTER / Osaka) ◼ NEW WIND FROM HIRA. (HIRA MUSEUM / Siga) ◼ MIURA ART PROJECT. (Miura Kanagawa) ▶ installation view
1998 ◼ ZO NO MENI UTURU BLUE FISH. (TELE COMUNICATION CENTER / Tokyo) ▶ installation view ◼ RESONANT BOX. (KOBE ART VILLAGE CENTER / Hyogo) ◼ FELISSIMO MUSEUM OPENNING EXHIBITION. (FELISSIMO MUSEUM / Kobe Hyogo) ◼ ART・UP ! (OSAKA CONTEMPORARY ART CENTER / Osaka - GALLERY GUTE/Hirosima - Xa104 MUSEUM / Hirosima - KOBE ART VILLAGE CENTER / Hyogo) ◼ INTERNATIONAL GROUP SHOW. (CAELUM GALLERY / NEWYORK U,S,A,)
1997 ◼ B-SEMI SCHOOL 30TH,UNIVERSALLY EXHIBITION. (HILLSIDE HOLL / Tokyo)
1996 ◼ SHOWA - SHELL PETROLE S.A.CONCOURS D,ARY COUNTEMPORAIN (Tokyu Museum / Tokyo) ▶ view works ◼ GRAND ET JEUNES D’AUJOURD’HUT (Paris / Dir, PATRICK - GILLES PERSIN) ◼ K2NT134 (Misaki Fish Market / Kanagawa) ▶ installation view
1992 ◼ ROOM FOR THINKING OF BEUYS (Anamizu Ishikawa / Dir, WATARI - UM) ▶installation view
1991 ◼ CONTEMPORARY ART TSURUGI ’91 (Turugi Ishikawa / Dir, JAN HOET) ▶ view works ◼ EYE OF JAN HOET (Artium Fukuoka / Dir, JAN HOET) ◼ ROOM FOR THINKING OF BEUYS (WATARI - UM Tokyo / Dir, RYSZARD STANISLAWSKI) ▶ installation view
1989 ◼ HB (Gallery Gen / Tokyo) ▶ installation view
■ 2009 at Gallery CASO Osaka Japan.
◼ Public collection
Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art
Oita Prefectual Art Museum
Oita Art Museum
Oita Hita City
Nagi Museum of Contempolary Art (Okayama)
Gyodong Museum of Art (S.Korea)
Felissimo Museum (Kobe Japan)