- Date
06.16.2021 (Wed.) - 07.04.2021 (Sun.)
- Time
- Location
Westfield Century City, Level 2 Terrace
- Fee
Complimentary
Kengo Kito (b.1977) is one of Japan’s most innovative contemporary artists, repurposing everyday objects and connecting contemporary materials and artistic forms with ideas rooted in traditional Japanese philosophy, culture and art. In this special satellite installation and his larger, immersive exhibition, “RECONNECTING: A Vision of Unity” at JAPAN HOUSE Los Angeles, Kito uses hula hoops to explore ideas of connection and reconnection. By opening up the hoops and linking them to each other end to end, he creates one expansive, interconnected whole that suggests the interconnectedness of all humanity, a concept that resonates deeply today.
We hope that the themes of connection and hope will lift the spirits of all our visitors here and at JAPAN HOUSE Los Angeles.
About the Artist
Photo by Makoto Fujiyama
Kengo Kito (b. 1977, Japan) received a BFA in oil painting at Nagoya University of Fine Arts and Music in 2001. He completed his Postgraduate Studies at Kyoto City University of Fine Arts and Music in 2003. In 2009, he was a resident artist at the Brooklyn campus of Long Island University and from 2010-12, he lived and worked in Berlin, Germany. Currently, in addition to his work as an artist, he is associate professor at Kyoto University of Art and Design.
Kito's primary materials are hula-hoops, laces, chains, mirrors, and other objects from daily life, which he connects and arranges to create his work. He plays with these ordinary ready-made materials to make two- and three-dimensional sculptures, installations, and videos. Kito draws inspiration for his work from the ephemeral quality of dreams and the structures and systems he finds in biology and nature.
Awards
Kito received the Encouragement Prize from Kyoto City University of Fine Arts and Music in 2003. He was also awarded the Gotoh Foundation Scholarship in 2008-2009, and Japan Agency for Cultural Affairs Scholarship in 2010.
Selected Solo Exhibitions
Regular solo exhibitions with Kenji Taki Galleries in Tokyo and Nagoya from first show Cosmic Dust (2004) through the present, Quasar, Gallery Koyanagi, Tokyo (2004), PUBLIC ’SPACE’ PROJECT, Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo (2007), Cosmic Elements, The Esplanade, Singapore (2008), Flimsy Royal, Humanities Gallery, Long Island University (2009), Sagittarius, αm Gallery, Tokyo (2010), KENGO KITO, Seibu Shibuya, Tokyo (2016), KENGO KITO Interstellar, Kyoto University of Art and Design Galerie Aube, Kyoto (2016).
Selected Group Exhibitions
Accretion Disk at Mori Yu Gallery, Kyoto (2002), On Flowering Images; Contemporary Japanese Photography, Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, Tokyo (2004), VOCA 2006 - The Vision of Contemporary Art, Ueno Royal Museum, Tokyo (2006), Food and Contemporary Art part 2, BankART 1929 Yokohama in Kanagawa (2006), Roppongi Crossing , Mori Museum in Tokyo (2007), Twenty, Dazed and Confused, London (2008), Barock Plastik, I-MYU Projects, London (2009), Gallery Group Show at Gallery Koyanagi, Tokyo (2010), Mono No Aware. Beauty of Things. Japanese Contemporary Art, The State Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg, Russia (2014), MULTIPLE STAR I, Hara Museum ARC Gallery A, Gunma, Japan (2017)
Artist Quote about Working with Hula Hoops
“For me, I’m not trying to configure space; rather, I have a strong desire to fill and dominate. With this work my goal was to see how much space I could stuff with lines. I aimed to ‘fill with coarseness and finesse.’ The space was saturated with hula-hoops, but their interior was a void that expresses a contradictory sense.” - Kengo Kito
Exhibition Credits
Presented by JAPAN HOUSE Los Angeles
Special thanks to Miwako Tezuka, PhD, Co-director, PoNJA-GenKon (Post-1945 Japanese Art Discussion Group) Associate Director, Reversible Destiny Foundation
Media Sponsor
