May 20 - June 17, 2017

Closed on Sundays, Mondays and Public holidays

Opening reception:

Saturday, May 20, 2017 18:00 - 20:00

Closing Talk:

Akiko KINUGAWA × Kenjiro HOSAKA (chief curator of the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, Japan)

Saturday, June 17, 2017 19:30 -

We are pleased to announce the Akiko KINUGAWA exhibition "Shall we take a shit and sleep" on view from May 20th to June 17th, at URANO.

Soon after receiving a MFA from Musashino Art University, Akiko Kinugawa participated in numerous exhibitions including "Crazy for Painting - vol.6 Akiko KINUGAWA" at gallery αM, Tokyo, Japan (curated by Kenjiro Hosaka, the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, 2012) "Joint Graduation Exhibition of 5 Art Universities" at The National Art Center, Tokyo, "VOCA the Vision of Contemporary Art 2015" (by recommendation of Chika Mori, curator of MOT, the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo). In the following year, Kinugawa's works were featured in "Unusualness Makes Sense - Alternative Art Practices by Thai and Japanese Artists" at Chiang Mai University Art Center, Gallery Seascape, Thailand.

There is something in my stomach. I feel there is something on my face.

I'm constantly having this feeling. It is invisible, but I cannot either deny or ignore since it has been there for a long time and claiming its presence. Perhaps, I just need to love it or I have already loved it from the beginning. Perhaps, there is no other way rather than accepting that I love it. Denying is an alternative choice but you cannot paint by denying. Perhaps, every single thing has its best wish or good path, but we live everyday life without seeing or showing it. We deny everything to justify our denial. Whether "a thing" that has been sticking to us is "love" or "shit," we cannot head to a good path without allowing "it" to make its hidden wish.

Akiko Kinugawa

The exhibition title speaks of Kinugawa's affection and hope toward every being that includes human, animal and a whole society. Being born into a physical body accompanies physiological phenomenon for maintaining life. Besides the normal functions of body, there is also a quintessential process of metabolism undertaken on a psychological level. For example, when our feeling is hurt, we try to avoid making the same mistake on others by understanding and embracing own psychological wound. "If two parties take a shit and go to bed together instead of telling the other to do, they can possibly head to a better path," says Kinugawa. The artist reminds us of this alternative possibility especially in the contemporary society where we constantly face obstacles and become stuck with no way out.

Kinugawa paints portraits of anonymous person or animal to examine the enigma of relationship with other beings. For her new series for this exhibition however, Kinugawa chose her family members as subject and explores her internal feelings more deeply. While rawness, a distinctive feature of Kinugawa's works is still present in the series, the peculiar sceneries of the psychological world leaves more vivid impression on viewers.