Tomio Koyama Gallery Tokyo - Kyoto | TKG Ceramics | TKG Editions Kyoto

» Introduction:

Aya Ito’s works have unique motifs such as zombi, ghost, and ones that are “vulgar, not artistic but childish”. Viewers may be surprised, amused, and imagine that Ito paints them unrestrainedly and spontaneously. Her works, which embrace unusual sense of space, however, are composed through a series of careful process. Ito creates maquette and examines the visual effects by taking many photographs, before she starts painting. She calls this method “photo-drawing”. She transforms the unexpected things happening in the process into some reality with special density. “I would like to make a zombi become a part of the reality and let him live in the same world with us”. Her works do not carry stories, and even if they do, the stories do not have certain meanings. But the reality in her works seems to seize our consciousness.
Ito states, “I have been attracted by realism rather than imagination, and collage rather than simple realism.” By using different elements such as sculpture, installation, photography, as well as painting, Ito pursues her own reality.

» Concept:

This exhibition presents 4 to 5 new oil paintings with the motifs of people, created with “photo-drawing” described above, and new drawings. Ito has created drawings as materials for “photo-drawing”, or as sketches for sculptural works before, but she will present them in the exhibition for the first time. She also plans to create some unique installation in order to make the boundary between tableau and drawing less visible.
Ito, who emphasizes moods of the work more than stories, does not have themes for this exhibition, but describes her works as carrying “mild, serious, and silly moods”. She states that she wants to emphasize these “moods”.

» Artist Biography:

Aya Ito was born in Arita-city, Wakayama in 1987. She graduated from Kyoto City University of Arts in 2009, and from Kyoto City University of Arts, Graduate School of Art, painting this year. Ito received Suntory award at in Art Camp in Kunst-Bau 2007 (Suntory Museum, Osaka), Runner-Up Prize in Art Award Tokyo Marunouchi 2009 (Gyokochika Gallery, Tokyo), and the Graduate School Mayer award at Annual Exhibition of Kyoto City University of Arts (Kyoto). Her major solo exhibitions include “Umaretsuki J” (Art Jam Contemporary, Tokyo, 2009), and her major group exhibitions include “Mont Blanc Young Artist Patronage in Japan” (Mont Blanc GINZA, Tokyo, 2009), “VOCA 2010” (The Ueno Royal Museum, Tokyo, 2010), and “RESONANCE” (Suntory Museum, Osaka, 2010). She will exhibit at Art Award Tokyo Marunouchi 2011 (July 3 to July 31, 2011). This is her second exhibition at Tomio Koyama Gallery since 2010.