Kei Ichikawa “fish story”

Kei Ichikawa “fish story”

Friday, September 6 – Saturday, September 28, 2024
Hours: 11:00-19:00 Closed: Sunday, Monday, and holidays
Opening hours: 11:00-19:00 Closed: Sunday, Monday, and National Holidays
Opening reception: Friday, September 6, 18:00-20:00
Admission free, no reservation required
Venue: tagboat The Parklex Ningyocho 1F, 7-1 Nihonbashi-Tomizawacho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 103-0006

tagboat is pleased to present “fish story,” a solo exhibition by contemporary artist Kei Ichikawa.
Kei Ichikawa is currently a student of oil painting at Tokyo University of the Arts, making him the youngest artist in tagboat’s history to hold a solo exhibition.

Combining the realistic techniques of Western painting with the ultra-planar expression found in Japanese painting, he depicts motifs that symbolize people living with a sense of “lack” in the chaos of contemporary society. The mismatch of mixed characters, such as AKIO*¹ in his suits and magical girls depicted in two dimensions, gives his paintings a unique charm and sense of unease.

In this solo exhibition, the artist’s core existence “AKIO” will be featured, along with a group of works that are in the vein of his independent exhibition “ROOM206 Vol. 2 – Nine Fish Stories” held in 2023, creating a unique worldview in which reality and fiction intersect.

In addition to the 100-size paintings, approximately 15 new works, including silkscreens, will be exhibited. Please come and see the symbolic motifs of contemporary society and the psychological conflicts of the young generation.

*¹“AKIO” is a representative character that appears in the works. The model is the artist’s grandfather.

CONCEPT

The artist feels a sense of stagnation in today’s society, but at the same time, he also has hope for the future. The story is set in a chaotic world of despair and hope, reality and fiction, where the characters AKIO in his suits and the magical girls he portrays in two dimensions are intertwined. Feel free to feel and interpret freely, and I hope you will enjoy my fish story.

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