What's characteristic about Mika Ninagawa's artwork is how she trims off the background from the color and image she wants to capture. One wonders what we see in the darkness within the shadow of a bright color, used so glamorously in her work that grabs our attention in the first place. Ninagawa has been showing a traveling retrospective "Mika Ninagawa: Earthly Flowers, Heavenly Colors" at Japanese museums which is quite extraordinary considering her young age, since last November. It travels to Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery; Iwate Museum of Art, Iwate; Kirishima Open-Air Museum, Kagoshima; and to Otani Memorial Art Museum Nishinomiya City, Hyogo which just opened on October 10th. The show compiles the early works to the most up to date in progress. Each exhibition is installed differently, by substantial content to reveal her original photographic world. Every show is topping the maximum number of visitors at each museum. Concept:
We will be showing 12 large prints included in her new monogram "FLOWER ADDICT" published by Bijyutu Shuppan-Sha. And 8-framed prints of artificially colored chrysanthemum by letting it soak up brightly colored water. Seeing it, one finds strong desire of mankind to transform the world as it finds fit, but at the same time such confinement resulted in visualizing a spur of beauty and elegance. This series of work was shown until September 23 at the Contemporary Museum of Art, Kumamoto's group exhibition titled "FLOWERS AND LANDSCAPE Claude Monet and Young Japanese Artists". We will be selling a special edition of monogram "FLOWER ADDICT" (48,000 JY tax non inclusive, limited edition of 40). These 40 editions will accompany an original print with Ninagawa's autograph, one of each from 40 pages. On October 24th the artist will be at the gallery to give autograph. (Reservation mandatory, first 100 callers will be accepted. Application method will be announced on Tomio Koyama Gallery's website) More Ninagawa works could be seen in the Kansai area during the exhibition period at Otani Memorial Art Museum Nishinomiya City, Hyogo's "Mika Ninagawa: Earthly Flowers, Heavenly Colors", and Kyoto Gokurakudo 2F, Kyoto's "Mika Ninagawa Shashinkan". Please come see them on this occasion. Artist Biography:
Mika Ninagawa was born in Tokyo. She graduated from Tama Art University with a degree in graphic design. She lives and works in Tokyo. She has received the Grand Prize at "9th Shashin hitotsubo ten (3.3 ㎡ photography) in 1996; Superior Prize at "13th New Cosmos of Photography" by Canon in1996; Encouragement Award at "9th Konica Award" in 1998; 26th Kimura Ihei Photography Award in 2001; Ohara Museum of Art Prize, VOCA in 2006. Her field of work includes being an art director of magazines and advertisement, publishing various books and directing a film titled "Sakuran" in 2007. She is with no doubt one of the most popular photographer today. This will be her third exhibition at Tomio Koyama Gallery, since her last show 3 years ago. * The text provided by Tomio Koyama Gallery.