Born and currently based in Tokyo, Ei Kaneko is known for his distinctive “collage-like” graphite drawings. The motifs (often being people and animals) which are edited by him, are found on the internet, from magazines and other mediums surrounding him. The completed works are an analogue version of a photo-montage, where various images from various time spans and places (ex domains) come to one on a single dimension(paper) through the tips of his pencils.

Photographs (often found) play a significantly important role in Kaneko’s works. However the main objective of using such sampled images are not to portray the symbolic meanings of the motifs. He reconstructs the images while demolishing their original meanings and roots, creating a “new existence”.

Listing to the words by kaneko, you will notice his attention towards the use of space and sculpture aspects. Through this exhibition we will be presenting his well known series of graphite collages, along with his new attempt to create an abstract atmosphere by using a combination of the sampled images taken and edited even further away from their original meanings.

*image (left)
Untitled, 2012
Graphite on paper, 59.5x42cm
© Ei Kaneko
courtesy of the artist and Clear Edition & Gallery