Tenmyouya Hisashi Solo Exhibition “Kunitukami” Mizuma Art Gallery (Tokyo,Japan)

27 February - 30 March 2019

Up until now, Tenmyouya Hisashi has focused around the lineage of Japanese festive aesthetics, delivering works inspired by basara daimyou of Sengoku period, kabukimono from the Edo period, to the spirit of present day street culture. And what Tenmyouya chose for the motif this time is Kunitsukami (Japanese native deities). Kunitsukami, unlike the heavenly gods that descend from Takamagahara or “The Plain of High Heaven,” are untamed gods born from Ashihara no Nakatsukuni: “The country of Japan,” indigenous to the land since the ancient time.

Having been two years since his last solo show, this exhibition will unveil Tenmyouya’s imagination of eight gods: Wind God, Thunder God, Snow God, Rain God, Rainbow God, Ocean God, Mountain God, and Fire God. Each deity riding on either a divine beast or a flying cloud, makes an appearance on earth, and transcends principles of the universe. They are spiritual and invisible beings, hence depicted as an ogre. At the far end of the gallery, stands a sculptural piece inspired by Goshintai or Shinto Shrine’s worshipping objects. By hanging the eight paintings that takes motif from the ancient gods as well as placing the Goshintai, it evokes an air of divinity alluding to traditional Japanese Shinto and Buddhism. Usually, a white cubed-room displaying works of fine art, the gallery is instead turned into an abstract space as it pays homage to Shinto and Buddhism, making this exhibition non site-specific.

In the Japanese tradition, before the influx of Western fine arts, existed a custom to only hang Buddhist images from the Heian period, or Shoki illustrations of gods meant to ward off evil made during the Edo period, and the act to enshrine a god or to hang illustrations were all one and the same. In the present time, there exists a separation between religious work and fine art, and metaphorical “god killing” is transpiring, where once decorated imagery of gods in the household is being replaced by aesthetic pieces of fine art. But in truth, are we in admiration for fine art today, as much as people used to be in faith for gods and its artwork? This work speculates on the value of gods and fine arts, the differences in the artistic outlook between Western and Eastern spheres, criticism on civilization and careful attention to animism. We eagerly invite you to an exhibition prevalent to Tenmyouya’s taste with its gala and cheerful style, that brings a sense of immense scale.

天明屋尚個展「国津神」ミヅマアートギャラリー (東京)

2019年02月27日 - 03月30日

これまで戦国時代のバサラ大名や江戸時代の傾奇者、現代のストリート文化といった日本の祝祭的な美の系譜を取り上げてきた天明屋尚。その天明屋が今回、モチーフとしたのが「国津神」です。国津神とは、高天原から天降った神々である天津神とは対置され、豊葦原中国（とよあしはらのなかつくに）に生まれ、古来から日本の地に土着する荒ぶる神々です。

作家の実に2年ぶりの個展となる今展では、天明屋が創造した風神、雷神、雪神、雨神、虹神、海神、山神、火神の8つの神々が展示されます。各神はそれぞれ神獣や雲に乗り来訪する神であり、此岸と彼岸の理を超越した目に見えない霊的存在、即ち鬼として描かれます。会場中央の奥には神社の御神体に着想を得た立体作品も設置。古代の神々をモチーフとした作品8点と御神体を配置することで、神社仏閣のような日本の伝統的な神聖空間を援用。通常、芸術作品を祀ろうホワイトキューブを、神仏を祀ろう抽象空間へのオマージュ、憧憬として上書きするアンチ・サイトスペシフィックな展示となります。

西洋芸術が流入する以前の日本の伝統では、平安時代の仏画や厄除けの神を描いた江戸時代の鐘馗図などの例を挙げるまでもなく、神や絵を祀る行為はしばしば一体のものでした。現代では、神と芸術を分離する「神殺し」が行われ、以前は神が位置した座標に芸術が置かれたわけですが、果たして我々はかつての人々が神や絵を信仰したほどに芸術を信望しているのでしょうか？　神と芸術の価値をめぐる思索、西洋と東洋における芸術観の違い、文明批評やアニミズムに対する目配せなど、天明屋らしいポップで陽性のスケールの大きさを感じさせる今展です。