April 9 - May 1, 2011
-GORO KAKEI's Works Exhibit "Spring Poems "-
[Place] GALLERY ACANTHUS
[Hour]
11:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Closed on Mondays
Goro Kakei had often been credited as a "figurative sculptor representing contemporary Japan" but what is he really like as an artist? His works had been viewed with passion not only by fans of fine arts, but also by professional artists and writers for years. However, those in Kansai region had almost no chance of seeing his works.
Goro Kakei was born in Shizuoka City on 1930, and after meeting Yoshi Kinouchi as a high school student, he decided that he should dedicate his life as a sculptor. In years immediately after the World War II, he enrolled in the Department of Sculpture at Tokyo University of Arts (previously known as Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music) and joined Shinseisaku Art Society after graduation where he worked together with peers and released his works as a part of its exhibitions. He had high regards toward the now-deceased sculptor Yoshitatsu Yanagihara and late Takeshi Tsuchitani had been his friend and comrade.
An overview of more than a half-century of Goro Kakei's creative activities reveals a stunning, ceaseless struggle to answer ageless questions. From his early works born out of his Christian faith and to his middle and later works from continuous dialogs with agonizing philosophical questioning such as "What does it mean to be a human?" and "Just what is the self-existence?", his answers to them as an artist can be found in these works. However, his answers seem to change slowly but steadily over years. Flowers and grass, small animals, a relaxed person, humorous faced people and other living beings start to appear more. Still sculpted with unique and drastic expressions, these works are cheerful and filled with life forces present in all living things. Coming face to face with them, one is excited with joys of life which is stimulated by this artist's sensitivity.
Goro himself calls his current studio and home as the "Noah's Ark". This "Ark" is loaded with beautiful living beings of all shapes, sizes, and materials. Now past eighty, he is devoted to sculpting as ever at this studio climbing its wooden steps everyday. The final total of around ninety works in both solid and flat forms from this Chofu studio and Kobuchizawa warehouse were delivered to Gallery Acanthus. Smaller works created from materials such as bronze, iron, wood, clothes, and paper will be the focus for this exhibition, but they are the distilled drop of essence from Goro Kakei's art.
We hope that these pieces of works bring pleasures to your sensitivity.
GALLERY ACANTHUS
Owner
[Place] THE GALLERY TOM
[Hour]
10:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Closed on Mondays (unless January 10.)
[Admission]
adult: 600yen
elementary and middle school: 200yen
visually-impaired person and escort: 300yen
