Tokyo Gallery + BTAP (Beijing) is pleased to announce the opening of "JAPANESE ARTISTS GROUP EXHIBITION" on Saturday, July 18. The exhibition has been divided into four parts, according to the four Japanese artists: Showichi Kaneda, Hiroto Kitagawa, Chiharu Nishizawa, and Hiroyuki Matsuura.

Showichi KANEDA

Born in Kyoto in 1970, Kaneda graduated from the Kyoto University of Fine Arts in 1995, where studied painting. Upon his graduation, he stayed in Kyoto to continue developing his artistic practice. In 2009, he became a professor in the oil painting department at Kyoto University. Kaneda’s artworks often incorporate rich colors, which for the most part are a result of using varnishes, acrylic paints, and automotive paints, etc. Furthermore, he also subtly affixes stickers, amongst other materials found in daily life, to create the unique mood found within his artworks. This exhibition will include his newest series of installational works.

Hiroto KITAGAWA

Kitagawa was born in 1967 in Japan’s Shiga Prefecture. After graduating from Kanazawa College of Arts in 1989, he had the vision of studying with the Italian figurative sculptor, Marino Marini. As such, he traveled alone to the Italian Academy of Fine Arts (Milan/Carrara), where he primarily studied classical carving techniques used with terracotta clay. Upon returning home, Kitagawa applied his new knowledge, and upheld terracotta hand-carving methods that brought both attention and praise both domestically and abroad. In recent years, he has participated in exhibitions at well-known museums and galleries both in Japan and overseas. Kitagawa way of combining the most original and simple clays with glazes of dazzling color, not only gains his work vast attention, but also uniquely expresses forms of modern society. His work has been show at the large urban-planning exhibition at the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art (Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan). This Beijing exhibition will include a number of Kitagawa’s recent artworks as well as launch his newest series.

Chiharu NISHIZAWA

Born in Nagano in 1970, Nishizawa graduated from the department of painting at the Tokyo University of the Arts. For a period of time after his graduation, Nishizawa focused on printmaking as his main mode of artistic creation, but soon after, he focused his gaze towards painting, something he felt to be a more direct means of expression. After his exhibition at the Opera City Gallery in 2003, he was selected for The Vision of Contemporary Art (VOCA) Award in 2004, which he won again in 2006 for exhibitions that were held in Hong Kong and Seoul. He continues to be active in the art world both in Japan and abroad. Nishizawa’s artworks are rooted in the realities of society today, looking at the unique forms found within imagery of typical Japanese office workers, children, and families. By using these characters as the main subjects in his work, he expresses his own unease with issues in modern society, and his desire for them to change. This Beijing exhibition will be the artist’s first attempt to create a medium-sized, site-specific installational.

Hiroyuki MATSUURA

Born in 1964 in Tokyo, Matsuura was once a graphic designer. In 1999, majority of Matsuura’s works aligned with “Japanese cartoon culture”. After his 2005 Tokyo Gallery exhibition, “Super Acrylic Skin,” his career identity shifted to that of an artist. Matsurra’s artworks span a plethora of disciplines, including painting, installation, and prints. He has participated in major exhibitions both domestically and abroad, and his exhibitions, such as those at the Taiwanese Gallery, Eslite (2008 and 2009), as well as his solo exhibition at Tokyo Gallery BTAP (2009), not only gathered the world’s attention, but also still live fresh in people’s memories.