exhibition / Kou Kana and her new catalogue

2021-03-22~2021-05-30

Kou Kana exhibition "100 miles climbing" at Roppongi Tsutaya Books + Yoshida Kana / Kou Kana catalogue to be published

Kou Kana: 100 miles climbing

artist catalogue: Yoshida / Kou Kana to be published

Kou Kana has been working based on her actual experience in the nature, climbing mountains and diving into the ocean. Her works are not merely a result of her visual experience, but memory, including the emotion she has felt through her experience, anxiety or fear, which can turn the place special for the artist. The artist called these kind of experience a "Beautiful Limit", and which also were adopted as titles of her works.

Her works had a large impact in group exhibition recently held at Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum (Oct. 2020 to Jan. 2021)

In the new solo exhibition of the artist "100 miles climbing" beginning from March 22, is held in two sets, showing some of her major works which have not be shown recently in public.

The First Half: 100 miles climbing “you are here to enjoy yourself “

March 22 (MON) - April 25 (SUN)

It's too Beer to Reason / 2007 / photo Hiroshi Noguchi
Man's Last Beer / 2007 / photo Hiroshi Noguchi

The first half of the 100 miles climbing exhibition are mainly from work series from "for the Love of Beer" which is based on the artist's original plot where Mr. Beer is climbing the cliff at the same time enjoy the process to reach the goal. The climber is doing the vertical mountain climbing seven days only drinking water from cactus to dreaming of having a beer at the final goal. The landscape is an imaginative scenery based on the artist's own mountain climbing.

The title of the first set of the exhibition “ you are here to enjoy yourself ”  is a message of the artist for the series of works. Overcoming the obstacle day by day, step by step to have the treat on the last day. This might be close to our recent difficult situation.

The Second Half: 100 miles climbing “Beautiful Limit “

April 47 (Tues) - May 30 (Sun)

The term “Beautiful Limit” is made by the artist meaning the state in which one's limitation and consciousness expands with panic, entailed by fear or surprise, at the moment encountering nature beyond recognition. The artist's whole working process was to expand this Beautiful Limit. Always her direct experience of the nature was there before the works, and the works were the result of reconstruction based on the experience.

The second half of the exhibition introduces works with impressive green landscapes. While the first half was about the struggle of human kind in the large nature, the second will be about the harmony with the nature. We are able to feel the artist's view toward the richness of the nature.

Vertigo at Seongsan Ilchulbong / 2012 / photo Hideto Nagatsuka

■ Exhibition information: 100 miles climbing
First Half: 100 miles climbing “ you are here to enjoy yourself “ March 22(Mon)- April 25(Sun)
Second Half:100 miles climbing “ Beautiful Limit “ April 27 (Tues)- May 30(Sun)
venue2F BOOK GALLERY, Roppongi Tsutaya Books
address6-11-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-0032

hours11:00-20:00 (open daily)
*Hours are changed depending on the situation under COVID-19.
*For more information Top page of the official website.


organizer: Roppongi Tsutaya Books
planning + curation: ArtTank

Yoshida Kana / Kou Kana Catalogue, to be published

from paintings to installations, selected more than 130 major works from more 300 works by the artist from the early period to 2020. Introducing in chronological order to show the transformation of the artist's interest and expression. The first catalogue of the artist scheduled to be published in April 2021.

■title:Yoshida Kana / Kou Kana: Works
■w 212 x h 260 mm, 120 pages full color
■ISBN: 978-4-600-00656-3
■date of publish: April, 2021
■price: 3,850 JPY(3,500 JPY + tax 350JPY) 
■publisher: Tachiwana Hiroshi / Yoshida Takako

■planning: ArtTank
■editor: Nagamine Mika
■designer: Ihara Yasuaki

※ sold at Roppongi Tsutaya Bools during "100 miles climbing Exhibition" from the Second Half of the exhibition (scheduled from April 27)