Solo exhibition of Masae Kariya, her first time solo exhibition in Tokyo. Kariya exhibited in the VOCA Exhibition in 2009 at the Ueno Royal Museum, a group exhibition in Kyoto Art Center etc.

In the past, she created mysterious and air-like touch artworks as if the world or the existence lay on top of the other, and the space was being crossed. Her primary artworks were the series that a theater and a meeting room where somebody’s existence can only be sensed were drawn and also the “Hide Face” series that has the characters of the man united with an animal are drawn. At the first glance, those looks different series, however, her artworks consistently have the same theme “drawing invisible existence”. It expresses the both inside and outside, and the origin stems from the same thing. Kariya who was born and raised in Kochi prefecture with folk beliefs creates the works which appeals “Existence, the world, and space cannot exist only with the figure that we can see”. This is about to awaken from the absolute sense of values, and seems to reflect the figures of society today that had the generation of various sense of values and ways of looking at, and also seems to start looking like inside figure of our heart that is wavering and lying one upon another.

New six artworks will be announced in this exhibition. Those works were created with her consciousness toward the “Participation in Feeling”. This time is not oil paintings, but transparent water color paintings with the user of colored pencils that are considered to go well with the artworks’ atmosphere, and it was painted on the water color paper. The lion silently seated on the restaurant’s table. The bird in an aquarium. The otter locked up in a bird cage. Unlike her previous works, “Complete” animals wear eye masks and were drawn as twins in impossible situations. When we faced the artworks, and through the works, the viewers and the creator, the viewers and the viewers, or something completely different are mixed as if they were lost in a maze, and influence one another (,or “participate in the feeling”.) It is the works that we can feel a touch of what “art expression” is for this artist.

Masae Kariya was born in Kochi prefecture in1980 and graduated from Osaka Art University with art major. 2004 – Completed Kyoto City University of Arts: Graduate School of Art 2007 – Grand prize in Amuse Art Jam 2007 in Kyoto 2008 – Semi-grand prize in Jeans Factory Art Award 2008 2009 – Group Exhibition: “now here, nowhere” in Kyoto Art Center – One of the ｓｅｌｅｃｔed artists of VOCA 2009 in The Ueno Royal Museum.

Artist Statement
I create artworks. How do I participate to your feeling and sense? I think a line between you and me is very unclear in the first place. I am not always the same myself, but different I appear in different situations. I believe you are the same. One person has a variety of faces/characters. Therefore, a line between me creating artworks and you viewing my works may be unclear from the beginning. When art expression is right there, I think you and I would be there as if we were twins by mixing and bumping against each other in spite of the unclearness. Frankly speaking, I don’t have to be aiming at somewhere. But when there is art in somewhere, my heart is attracted to all the feelings and the senses arisen from me, you, a mixture of people, and all kinds of things.

I get attracted to the expression of straightforward demand and anger of animals. For me, it is not the charm due to the straightness that human don’t have, but it might be because I am very much like them. I don’t like to be in an irritated situation. I would like to contribute to the feeling and the senses of me, you, and a mixture of people through art. However, from the meaning that it is not for something, and also I am not after somewhere, I would like to puzzle myself, you and all to the place like a maze. Just to be simple to how we feel, and to stay in this place right now.
- Masae Kariya