104GALERIE (Ikejiri-ohashi, Tokyo) is holding Golden Times, a solo exhibition by Berlin-based street artist El Bocho, running from Friday October 12th to Saturday November 25th. It is the second exhibition of this artist at 104GALERIE, two years after the first, showcasing his latest large-scale paintings along with some drawings and his Little Lucy series. It will be held at our 104GALERIE and 104GALLERIE-R spaces.

El Bocho’s new paintings overlay backgrounds of gold foil, reminiscent of European religious painting of the Middle Ages or work from the Japanese Rinpa School, with primary colours such as red, yellow, green and blue. Recently, El Bocho has worked closely with Rolf Biebl (1951~, Germany), a prominent sculptor, creating sculptural pieces in gold and bronze. In El Bocho’s paintings, gold foil, a traditional material since the Middle Ages, and pop-style female characters in primary colours are collaged on canvas, a striking new approach informed by his encounter with Biebl. The distinctive gold colour foregrounds the expressions of the girls he paints and gives a romantic impression to the work.

Our ‘golden times’ are flashes of self-awareness and moments of glory within our own lives. The explosions of thought that El Bocho captures so richly remind us of those sparks of gold. With his dynamic strokes, on canvas or on the wall of a street, El Bocho, whose work surprises, charms and moves in equal measure, remains true to his core identity as a street artist.

From 19:00 on Friday October 12th, we will be holding an opening reception with the artist, where you will also be able to see some of his installation work.
We look forward to welcoming you.



Exhibition
EL BOCHO「GOLDEN TIMES」

Period
12th October – 25th November, 2018
Closed on Sunday and Monday

Opening Reception
12th October, 7pm-9pm

Hours
12:00-20:00

Place1
104GALERIE
Meguro-Heights 104 3-22-1 Aobadai Meguro-ku Tokyo
tel : +81 (0)3 6303 0956

Place2
104GALERIE-R
Garage 1-6-4 Ohashi Meguro-ku Tokyo

＜PROFILE＞
EL BOCHO

El Bocho began work as an illustrator for newspapers and album covers after studying design in university. Having moved to Berlin he began working as a street artist, throwing his desire, joy and questions about life into his theme of ‘everyday urban life’.

In Go Beyond Borders, presented by CNN International in 2009 to mark the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, he presented a 40km piece of tape art. It attracted a lot of attention, and later received several prestigious advertising awards: a Clio Awards Gold in Content & Contact (New York, 2010) and a Golden Award of Montreux for Best Use of Media (2010, Switzerland). This work, shining a new light on the history and memory of the street, is recognised as one of the most significant pieces of street art. El Bocho holds solo shows not only in major German cities, but also in Russia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Brazil, France and Italy as well as with us in Japan.

＜SELECTED AWARDS＞
2009
Gold Medal at Montreux 2010 – for CNN “Go Beyond Borders” together with “Heimat”Agency

2010
Art Directors Club (Bronze) – for CNN “Go Beyond Borders” together with “Heimat”Agency

2010
Megaphone Award – for CNN “Go Beyond Borders” together with “Heimat”Agency

2011
Society for News Design (NYC): 1st place – World’s Best-Designed Newspaper (with the FAZ-Sonntagszeitung)

2012
Lead Award GOLD “Best Newspaper” (Illustrations for FAZ-Sonntagszeitung)

2013
GOLD – “Kodak Gregor-calendar-award”

2016
Society for News Design (NYC): 1st place – “International Newspaper of the Year.” (Illustrations for FAZ-Sonntagszeitung)

Information Provided by: 104GALERIE

Period: October 12,2018 (Fri)　〜 November 25,2018 (Sun)
Hours: 12:00-20:00
Closed: Closed on Sunday and Monday
Venue: 104GALERIE