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    “Scuba Diver” by Martin Whatson in Tokyo, Japan

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    Street artist Martin Whatson recently worked on a new wall in Tokyo, Japan. The mural “Scuba Diver” was done in collaboration with Parco Shibuya and Gypsy Eyes Tokyo.In line with this, Martin Whatson opened “Okaeri”, a full-scale solo show. Approximately 20 one-of-a-kind newly painted canvases, featuring the artist’s signature black-and-white stenciling and colorful and unique tagging, as well as rare posters with the artist’s signature are on display and for sale.Show will be open to the public until October 4th (Sunday) at Parco, Shibuya.Take a look below for more photos of “Scuba Diver”. More

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      “Open Your Eyes” by Javier Calleja at Nanzuka Underground in Tokyo, Japan

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      On November 14th 2021 will be opening an exhibition of  new works at NANZUKA UNDERGROUND (Jingumae, Shibuya, Tokyo).  “Open Your Eyes” marks the artist’s third solo presentation in Japan following his 2018 show “Do Not Touch” (at the former gallery space of NANZUKA UNDERGROUND), and “No Art Here” held concurrently at the two venues of NANZUKA 2G and 3110NZ last year. Calleja’s works are filled with a diverse array of twists and interventions that bring surprise and humor to various events within daily life. Expressing a fondness for the works of René Magritte, the Malaga-based artist references the techniques of the surrealist master in the context of contemporary portraiture, depicting the present-day sitters through his characteristic appropriation of the “BIG EYE.” The changes in color and shifts in scene, as well as the relationship between the facial expressions of his subjects and the texts that accompany them, are aspects that the artist particularly pays close attention to in his work. Furthermore, the overall softness of the setting as well as the play with composition are emphasised further in this body of work, alluring the viewer’s eye towards the narratives suggested by the aforementioned key elements of the work. Continuously confronting life’s difficulties through his sharp-witted creativity and determined to perceive every aspect of life in a positive manner, the new works are becoming that much more relevant in the context of the ongoing global pandemic. Open Your Eyes can indeed be interpreted as a warning against the current state of our world that is becoming more closed and exclusive, and at the same time it is a phrase that appears to present each one of us with the incentive to recognize our own dignity. Highly approachable and could be described as “friendly words of wisdom,” Calleja’s works are permeated with a strong and warm sense of energy that brings encouragement in these difficult times. As we engage with his work and the sheer magnitude of their all-embracing nature, the artist hopes that the viewer becomes aware of their true self.  The exhibition consists entirely of new works. Along with two large three-dimensional works presented inside and outside the gallery, a selection of paintings on canvas and drawings will also be showcased on this occasion. Open Your Eyes will run until 26th of December 2021. More

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      in Street Art

      Coverage: Sneakerwolf “The New Abnormal” in Shibuya, Tokyo

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      Japanese artist SNEAKERWOLF recently had his latest solo exhibition in elephant STUDIO, Shibuya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, organized by WATOWA GALLERY. The exhibition which is entitled “The New Abnormal” will run until the 7th of February.

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      The series “The New Abnormal” which treats the alphabet established by SNEAKER WOLF as a radical of Chinese characters and resembles , is positioned in the tradition of graffiti culture in that it is “unreadable”. Although it is a language, it looks abstract when it is in a single language world such as English-speaking countries and Japanese-speaking countries. The fictional Chinese characters, composed of parts of the alphabet, are an attempt to keep others from understanding, and reflect his own rebellious attitude in a playful manner.

      In addition, SNEAKERWOLF has established its own style by controlling the “impulse” that the graffiti culture has revealed with craftsmanship. SD(Super Deformed) conversion, which he uses, is a method of simplifying the elements of anime and manga characters and compressing the ratio, and can be said to be a characteristic form that shaped the cute culture of early Japan. What’s more, he has recovered to the SD style, including the dripping of paint called drip, which is one of the characteristics of the spray depiction used by graphic writers.

      On the other hand, this SD conversion also shares the characteristics with the MATOI(Firemans coat) used by fire extinguishers in the Edo period and the typography of Edo characters used on the back of happi coats and SENJA-FUDA. In addition, the SENJA-FUDA, which was popular in the middle of the Edo period, is said to have started with the act of sticking a piece of paper with your name on it in a place that is as hard to peel off as possible to show that you have visited a shrine or temple. In other words, this SENJA-FUDA was about 200 years ahead of Vandalism, a style of sticking stickers around the world like BNE. In addition, there was a tendency that KABUKI characters, in which the names and performance names of KABUKI actors that were popular around the same time were intentionally written to be difficult to read, should be read by those who can read them. The style of SNEAKER WOLF is vandalism that transcends time and nationality by standardizing multiple cultures into the style of SD while quoting the typography of Edo used for Kabuki characters and Senjafuda and its spirit. Refine your impulses as a craftsman.

      SNEAKEREWOLF uses the strokes I drew and the works of artists related to graffiti culture as an application. Although the work is an extension of graffiti culture, it is catchy like pop art, and it cleverly escapes the dullness of the kanji graffiti that we are accustomed to, and the authority of the genre is seriously teased.

      Text by Yuzu Murakami, Watowa Gallery

      In contemporary Japanese art, pre-modern art styles such as UKIYO-E, folding screens, and Japanese paintings have always been quoted and reinterpreted. What SNEAKER WOLF practices in this exhibition is an invention that positions Edomoji between “writing” and “drawing” and adds artistic value in relation to street culture, and can be said to be a discovery.
      Check out below to see more photos from “The New Abnormal”. More

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      Coverage: “NO ART HERE” by Javier Calleja at Nanzuka 2G at PARCO & 3110NZ by LDH Kitchen, Tokyo, Japan

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      Two years after his solo debut with NANZUKA, Javier Calleja is back to Japanese capital for another solo exhibition which will be presented on 2 locations – at NANZUKA 2G space at PARCO in Shibuya, and at transforming gallery space 3110NZ in collaboration with Sushi Saito.b-sm = 300×250; sm > none; Calleja produces work that brings surprise and… More