We are pleased to announce the opening of Kunihiko Nohara's exhibition, "Bubbles and Flowers," at gallery UG Tennoz starting on Friday, September 6, 2024.
Kunihiko Nohara was born in 1982 in Eniwa, Hokkaido. He completed his graduate studies in Sculpture at Hiroshima City University in 2007 and has been an exclusive artist with gallery UG since 2010.
Nohara, who has consistently worked with the theme of "pleasant moments," will present new works in this exhibition, focusing on his new series "Shabon." In this series, seemingly unrelated motifs of "pleasant moments," "bonsai," and "bubbles" are brought together by Nohara, offering viewers a fresh perspective on these concepts.
A common element in Nohara’s works is the depiction of a figure wearing underwater goggles.
These goggles symbolize anonymity, providing viewers with an opportunity to project their own experiences and emotions onto the work. This approach encourages viewers to recall fleeting happy memories from their daily lives and to explore their inner selves.
Moreover, in today’s society, the concept of “anonymity” is significant, enhancing social diversity and inclusiveness, and generating new perspectives.
Nohara's works skillfully connect the themes of "pleasant moments" and "anonymity," helping us to rediscover the small joys hidden in our everyday lives.
Some of his major exhibitions include "Wonderful Time" at Ueno Royal Museum in 2017, "Party at the Bookstore Tonight" at GINZA ARTRIUM, Ginza Tsutaya Books in 2018, "Living History" at Nijo Castle in 2021, and "Floating Moment" at The Ritz-Carlton Tokyo in 2023.
He is also currently holding a solo exhibition titled "The Flavor of Art" at TOWN CLUB in Hong Kong.
We are pleased to announce that gallery UG Osaka Umeda will host Hideki Iinuma's exhibition, "Roulette," from Wednesday, August 28, 2024, to Tuesday, September 17, 2024. This will be his first solo exhibition at gallery UG Osaka Umeda.
Hideki Iinuma was born in Nagano Prefecture in 1975. After completing his graduate studies at Aichi Prefectural University of Fine Arts and Music in 2002, he enrolled at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Nantes, France, where he continued to be active in various parts of Europe until 2006. During his time studying in Paris, Iinuma deepened his awareness of fashion and began to view women as objects of admiration. This led him to start creating wooden sculptures inspired by modern women.
Iinuma's works transcend the fleeting trends of fashion, expressing the timeless beauty and lives of women. His unique technique, characterized by rough carving marks that leave the texture of the wood visible, ensures that the women he sculpts remain eternally vibrant and beautiful. His work leaves a profound impression on viewers, as if eternally engraving the strength and beauty of women.
In this exhibition, the artist explores the "importance of self-expression and choice." The title "Roulette" symbolizes the uncertainty of life, governed by fate and chance, and suggests that the pursuit of one's fundamental meaning and value is an essential aspect of human existence, requiring continuous challenge regardless of the era.
Iinuma has participated in major exhibitions such as "Rokko Meets Art: Art Walk 2013" (Hyogo), "LUMINE Meets ART AWARD 2015," and his solo museum exhibition "Warring Goddesses" at Matsumoto City Museum of Art in 2016. His other notable exhibitions include "The Girl Who Was Supposed to be Digitized but Somehow Transformed into Natural Wood" at Canon Digital House Ginza (Tokyo, 2019) and "New Works" at Marianne Kranmer Projects (Amsterdam, 2018).
—gallery UG Osaka Umeda
"Life is like a roulette wheel.
Where you are born, where you live, and where you grow up are all determined by fate. Gender differences, skin color, nationality, religion, and family environment are not choices we make. Whether you have been oppressed or raised in a family that has pioneered new worlds, these are factors beyond your control. However, I believe that self-expression is what transcends the roulette. By gathering various pieces of information, turning them into knowledge, thinking independently, making decisions, and constantly making choices, we express ourselves as individuals. Even if it means stepping outside the boundaries of the roulette, we must challenge each choice as if betting on life, even at the risk of failure. I believe that pursuing what lies at the root of these challenges is what is required of us. In this exhibition, I aim to emphasize the importance of challenging the roulette."
We are pleased to announce that our exclusive artist, Kunihiko Nohara, will be holding a solo exhibition titled "The Flavour of Art" at HKGTA Town Club in Central, Hong Kong, from August 2 until September 16.
HKGTA Town Club is a luxury private members club located conveniently in the heart of Hong Kong, featuring different outlets that offer an array of cuisine from different cultures.
In addition to the exhibition, a special collaborative menu created by the Chef Team and Kunihiko Nohara will be available at HKGTA Town Club’s Teak House until September 16.
Organized by: gallery UG
Supported by: HKGTA Town Club
"Connecting artworks to people, connecting people to each other through art."
galleryUG are always there for our artists.
We will grow together with the artists and support them from production to promotion.
We aim to further enrich and expand the contemporary art scene by proposing the ideal way for galleries to be.
The motifs chosen by Nami OKADA for her artwork are places she has visited personally. Her artwork arouses feelings of déjà vu and of reaching across time in viewers, whose backgrounds all differ.
Each person forms a distinct impression of a given building or piece of scenery due to the differences in their memories and experiences. Such spaces thus possess a multitude of forms.
It is only when there is commonality in the interpretations of multiple viewers that a given piece of scenery takes on certain meaning.
OKADA brings life to One View by exploring the relationship between pieces of scenery that have taken on meaning due to the overlapping of such commonalities and pieces of scenery whose meaning has yet to take shape.
In moments when I feel like I’m in a place independent of my surroundings,
I sometimes feel like I’m in a different time and space.
The feeling is like clouds or smoke that change shape with no regard for time
that people have to live by, and it also feels like a space of my own.
To turn, various scenes that came up in my imagination from things I encountered.
To express freedom, time and desires that are on the verge of being discarded from memory.
That is what is important, in order for me to be me and for a person to be them self.
2F TERRADA ART COMPLEX Ⅱ, 1-32-8, Higashishinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo
8 minutes walk from Tennozu Isle Station on the Tokyo Waterfront Area Rapid Transit Rinkai Line(Exit B)
11 minutes walk from Tokyo Monorail Haneda Airport Line Tennozu Isle Station(Central Exit)
11F Daimaru Umeda Department Store
3-1-1, Umeda, Kita-ku, Osaka
From JR Osaka Station from 1-minute walk/JR Kita-Shinchi Station a 6-minute walk
From Midosuji Line Umeda Station from 2-minute walk/Tanimachi Line Higashi-Umeda Station from 8-minute walk/Yotsubashi Line Nishi-Umeda Station a 4-minute walk
From Hankyu Umeda Station from 13-minute walk/Hanshin Umeda Station a 12-minute walk
This is a production studio for exclusive artists of gallery UG, which will open in 2020. It was built to approach and support artists from a long-term perspective.
