Featured Artist Programme
Like “Ether#80,” the white sculpture work in the courtyard by Kohei Nawa and the painting “Seasonal flowers and birds” by Ryo Shinagawa that graces the wall in the café-bar, many works by Japan’s up-and-coming artists are dotted throughout the inn.
Roka has launched a programme called “Featured Artist” where a selected artist will display their works in all the eleven guest suites. They are also for sale. Many of these artworks are replaced twice a year by those of newly selected artists.
We hope to create a place that attracts art lovers from all over the world and nurture artistic inspiration which will give rise to new projects by supporting our domestic talent and offering them a venue to present their works.
- Vol. 06
- Yuzuho Matsuoka
The Visual Joy and Delight Embodied in Pop and Three-Dimensional Paintings
Artist comment
Profile
Born in Hyogo Prefecture in 1996. Graduated from the Master's Program in the Faculty of Fine Arts, Oil Painting Department at Kyoto University of the Arts in 2021. The artist creates paintings that approach human perception by drawing grid patterns with acrylic paint on square canvases and adding abstract color shapes in parts. At first glance, the works may give a pop impression due to the bold patterns and high levels of saturation and brightness, but the layers created by overlapping elements give the works a three-dimensional appearance, prompting viewers to reconsider the relationship between the painting and themselves. In recent years, the artist has also produced works using textiles, based on the inherent nature and structure of painting. Notable exhibitions include: Solo Exhibition "Narrowed Vision" (Kyoto Tsutaya Bookstore Gallery, Kyoto) in 2023, "Idemitsu Art Award Artist Selection 2023" (The National Art Center, Tokyo), Solo Exhibition "Redundant Moon" (CANDYBAR GALLERY, Tokyo), and Solo Exhibition "Gazing at the Sky Through a Needle's Eye" (FOAM CONTEMPORARY, Tokyo). Major awards include: "Pommery Prize Kyoto 2023" Excellence Award, "ART AWARD TOKYO MARUNOUCHI 2021" Proactive Award, and "Shell Art Award 2020" Student Special Prize.
Collection
Room No.1
Room No.2
Room No.3
Room No.5
Room No.6
Room No.7
Room No.8_1
Room No.8_2
Room No.9
Room No.10
Room No.11
Room No.12
Archive
Permanent Collection
Moment Photography (R2021:05:15 13:56:28)
Ether#80
Kohei Nawa
Born in 1975. Sculptor/Chairman at Sandwich Inc./Professor at the Kyoto City University of Arts. Nawa graduated from the Kyoto City University of Arts with a PhD in sculpture in 2003.
Nawa’s 'PixCell' series symbolizing our digital culture was launched in 2002. The artist explores the ideas of ” surfaces” with his sculpture works which are also informed and inspired by cellular biology. Since then, he has created a series of works that challenge the definition of sculpture. By revealing the physical properties of the materials used, he has managed to create new sensory experiences for the viewers. In 2018, his 3D suspended-installation work “Throne” was exhibited within the glass Louvre Pyramid in Paris.
Shohei Yamamoto
Shohei Yamamoto (b.1994, Kanagawa, Japan) graduated from the Kyoto City University of Arts with an MA in 2019. In the same year, won the Art Award Tokyo Marunouchi 2019 and the French Embassy in Japan Award. Yamamoto adopted a unique approach to creating his paintings. He uses his original roller with which he “paints” by repeatedly rolling over traditional iconographs and images that often appear in art history. One of his solo exhibitions is “Re:Reiterate” at Institut français du Japon – Tokyo in 2020.
Kohei Yamada
Kohei Yamada (b. 1997, Osaka, Japan) graduated from Musashino Art University, majoring in oil painting in 2020. The same year, he was admitted to the Master's oil painting programme at Kyoto University of the Arts. Yamada has been selected for the “CAF Award 2020” and “FACE 2020 Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Art Award Exhibition. Some of his solo exhibitions include “Sen-no-hairikata” at MtK Contemporary Art and at Kyoto Okazaki Tsutaya Bookstore Gallery Space (2022), “road” at Daikanyama Hillside Terrace Annex A in Tokyo (2021), “Nobori, Oriru” at Gallery Bi-no-sha (2022).
Daisuke Yokota
Daisuke Yokota (b. 1985, Saitama, Japan) graduated from Nippon Photography Institute in 2003. Yokota has become a sought-after artist both domestically and internationally after receiving several awards including the first Outset Unseen Exhibition Fund Award (2013) at the Unseen Photo Fair in Amsterdam with a solo exhibition opportunity afterwards at Foam Photography Museum (2014), Foam Paul Huf Award (2016) and the Kimura Ihei Memorial Photography Award (2019). Some of his notable solo exhibitions include “Photographs”at rin art association(2021)and “SHAPE OF LIGHT” at Tate Modern(2018).
Masashi Shigeta
Masashi Shigeta (b. 1985, Chiba, Japan) graduated from Tokyo University of the Arts with a master in ceramics. Shigeta won the Hirayama Ikuo Award (2006) and one of his works was selected for the Kikuchi Biennale (2011). Currently based in Kashiwa City, Chiba, the artist has created numerous works. Some of his recent exhibitions include “Sozaino hana-heralding spring-“ at Art Front Gallery (2021), “Shigeta Masashi Pottery exhibition-CRYSTALLIZE” at Sogo Chiba (2018).
Ryo Shinagawa
Born in Osaka in 1987. Shinagawa studied Japanese painting in Kyoto. Also with his training both in Italy and Switzerland under his belt, he explores contemporary possibilities for Japanese art.
Shinagawa has so far exhibited his works mainly in Asia including Japan, Seoul and Taipei but Basel and New York have hosted his shows. Some of his clients for his commissioned works include TIGER CORPORATION (Thermo bottles), Shimogamo-saryo (Kyoto haute cuisine) and Suiran luxury Collection Hotel Kyoto.
Roka Art Project
Greeting from the Art Producer
A ryokan with a contemporary art gallery has opened its doors in Naoshima, a world-renowned art destination and one of the host islands of Setouchi Triennale. Naoshima Ryokan Roka explores ways to make traditions relative to our age. The launch of the “Roka Art Project” coincided with the ryokan’s opening.
Its mission is to identify and nurture emerging talent and create a mid-to-long-term support system to show and market their art works. One of the first steps we have taken is to make the lounge and the dining space into a gallery for its permanent collection as well as having half-a-year solo exhibitions of selected young artists in all the eleven guest suites.
The participating artists for our permanent collection include Kohei Nawa, now world-famous after the showing of his ambitious sculpture work within the glass Louvre Pyramid in Paris, Ryo Shinagawa, Shohei Yamamoto, Kohei Yamada, leading contemporary Japanese artists and the Kimura Ihei Award winner/photographer Daisuke Yokota.
The first solo artist exhibition started in April, 2022. The new series “Twelve works inspired by the imperial anthology Shin kokin wakashu (New Collection of Poems Ancient and Modern)” by the sought-after artist, Ryo Shinagawa, graces the walls of the eleven suites. All the works are for sale online with the priority given to the staying guests.
In addition to the ongoing selected artists exhibitions, the Roka Art Project is planning to add another creative dimension to Naoshima by launching an artist in residence programme and a new gallery space in the coming years.
Art producer, Shigeo GotoShigeo Goto Profile
Shigeo Goto is an editor, creative director, art producer, and professor at Kyoto University of Arts who was born in Osaka, Japan. Under the motto of “unique editing,” he has produced many art books and photopraph collections for Ryuichi Sakamoto, Haruomi Hosono, Kishin Shinoyama, Mika Ninagawa, and Kohei Nawa. He has also curated more than 150 exhibitions through his platform, G/P+abp. His most recent production work was the direction of Kohei Nawa’s huge installation “Metamorphosis Garden” at GINZA SIX. He also runs the GOTO Lab at Kyoto University of the Arts and the SUPER SCHOOL online “A&E (ART & EDIT).”
(ref.: https://tokion.jp/en/2021/10/14/editor-art-producer-shigeo-goto/)
I am honored to present a total of 12 pieces, primarily from the “outline” series, in the guest rooms of Naoshima Ryokan Roka. When viewed in an atmosphere that differs from the usual exhibition spaces, the works reveal new facets that might not be noticed otherwise. Artworks change in response to external factors such as the air, light, wind, and passage of time, as well as internal factors like the emotions of people. It would be a privilege if these pieces could add a touch of color to your memories during your stay at this ryokan. Please take the time to enjoy the works from various angles and distances, as you experience the serene passage of time in Naoshima’s rich natural environment, with its shifting horizons and the scent of greenery throughout the changing seasons.