ARTIDE Chiharu Kihara

Born in Yamaguchi Prefecture in 1979. He aspired to be a painter from an early age, and continued painting on his own after dropping out of high school.
His first solo exhibition was held at Gallery Den (Tokyo) in 1999, and he has held numerous solo exhibitions and participated in group exhibitions.
He depicts the "spirit of life" using motifs from the natural world such as animals and insects, making use of colors, shapes, and strokes. His dynamic works, which use not only tools but also his hands, elbows, and feet, leave a strong impression on people.

“ART×TIDE”

Why did I start expressing it?

It was the only way I could immerse myself and express myself when I was young, and I thought there was no more interesting work that I could have been involved in as a human being.
When I was in the 4th or 5th grade of elementary school, I found a book called ``Art Yearbook'' at my grandparents' house, and there I learned that there was a job called a painter, and that I could work with the paintings I loved, so I decided to become a painter. At that time, I also liked manga and drew them often, so I joined the art club in high school. I was most looking forward to drawing pictures in the art room during summer vacation, but due to the teacher's circumstances, the art club's summer vacation activities were canceled, and I lost my purpose, so I quit high school. It was the first summer vacation of my first year of high school.
I had always been painting at my grandparents' house (my parents divorced when I was young, so I lived with my paternal grandparents), and although they were vehemently against my idea of ​​becoming a painter, I guess my grandparents had given up on me, and they finally agreed. Now they support me.
For me, drawing is the only way I can speak my own language, and I can use it to communicate with people all over the world, and to create joy, questions, and possibilities, and to be able to express myself through life, and to express myself (living things). I felt that I had the power to awaken the sleeping unknowns and bring them back to their original place, so I pushed forward without hesitation.
Another thing that gave me a big boost was my encounter with Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa and Francis Bacon's Scream/Head painting, both of which were included in my art textbook when I was in elementary school. It was very shocking, and I felt like those two people were telling me to come, and I was greatly encouraged.

What do you want to express with your work?

I want to embody the ``energy source'' that touches the spark of all existence, the root of creation of people and all things, through myself. To be extreme, I would like to create a place of beginning (energy) like the universe or the Big Bang.
In order to express the above, I borrowed the shapes of living things and drew them. Among them, cats and birds are motifs that I repeatedly draw.
I chose the cat, which was the motif for this project with TIDE, because it is smooth, supple, and sharp, and its presence is captivating and draws you in. This is a motif that I will continue to draw repeatedly in my productions.

What do you worry about other than spending time in front of your work?

I always have my unconscious antenna up, so even when I'm not drawing, I feel like I'm drawing. I think my unconscious mind is always trying to detect something.
I also casually look at everyday scenery, the clouds, the moon, and the sky, and look for roadside plants and insects.

What does it mean to express yourself?

A communication tool and an individual's cry to the outside world.
Since I use the dual aspects of personal emotion and the pursuit of pictorial expression, objectivity is essential, and I believe that expression is ``human potential.'' I think it's a process of passing the baton by weaving together the possibilities of the individual and the possibilities of painting, past, present, and future.
Another thing I am careful about when expressing things is that when I draw sad, heavy, or emotional things, I don't just draw them in a painful way, but instead I try to draw them in a way that allows them to pass through the filter of expression and make it easier for the viewer to understand. I am conscious of this.

Where does the future of expression lie?

I believe that the future of expression lies "within people."
The project we are working on this time is itself true, and we are currently living on the cutting edge of progress, so we believe that the people, things, environments, and initiatives we encounter through this project will create the future, cause chemical reactions, and bring about expansion. think. I believe that the future is about having a positive attitude and not giving up on your goals.

What do you expect from an expression similar to TIDE?

Urban Crafts = TIDE has a workshop in Higashikagawa City, the easternmost tip of Kagawa Prefecture, and in order to pass on the local industry to the next generation, we are working to improve each other with the power of young people and skilled craftsmen, and give form to technology and ideas in these difficult times. The collaboration between a team that is working hard to leave a lasting impression on the world of Japan and us contemporary artists is the budding of possibilities, so we would like to express our gratitude to our customers who have realized this energy with strong will and flexible imagination, and who have taken advantage of this collaborative work. I hope you can share even a little bit of excitement (a purpose in life) with me. I believe that both people and things are encounters, so I want to create something meaningful and warm.

<About ARTIDE Vol.1>
The reason why I chose a cat as a motif this time is because I love cats, but I also like the way the pattern on a cat's body is smooth, like a crawling undulation or wave-like movement. This is because the strong feeling overlapped with the patchwork design of the TIDE bag. TIDE's concept is ``The TIDE is turning,'' which is the catchphrase of changing the tide and reversing the situation.Crawling cat, as the name suggests, is a reflection of TIDE's philosophy and my feelings in this painting. I hope it will be carried in the form of a multi-wallet and delivered to many people so that they can share the excitement and enjoy it.

<About ARTIDE Vol.2>
I envisioned a lively, mischievous, wild ant running freely around the canvas and the wallet shoulder like a nest, making the wallet shoulder and the ants in the picture lively and lively, just like real life forms.
We hope that you will enjoy the Wallet Shoulder as if you were wearing a canvas or a palette.

Biography

Solo exhibition
2001 “Chiharu Kihara Exhibition” Gallery Kitamura/Curator: Katsura Funakoshi Tokyo “Chiharu Kihara Exhibition” Space kobo&tomo Tokyo
2005 "Chiharu Kihara's World Exhibition" Kobe Watashi Museum of Art, Hyogo
2007 "Chiharu Kihara Exhibition + Talk Show ◇Yoshie Yoshida x Chiharu Kihara" Shibuya Seibu Tokyo "HEART2007" Solo exhibition/group exhibition/planning: Yamaguchi Prefectural Museum of Art, Yamaguchi Prefectural Cultural Federation, Yamaguchi Prefectural Board of Education Yamaguchi "Chiharu Kihara Exhibition - ANA MEETS ARTS" ”Haneda Airport/Planning: All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd. Tokyo
2008 <br>Sapporo Marui Imai Hokkaido Sogo Kobe Hyogo
2009 <br>Tenmaya Hiroshima Hiroshima "Chiharu Kihara Exhibition + Live Painting + Talk Show ◇Yuji Yamashita x Chiharu Kihara" Shibuya Seibu Tokyo Sogo Kobe Hyogo
2012~2019
Vitalism1~Vitalism7 Lloyd Works Gallery Yushima
2020 “CUREATURES / Chiharu Kihara” 3331 CUBE shop&gallery Tokyo

group exhibition
2006 "VOCA2006" Ueno Royal Museum Tokyo "BAS 06" Bunkamura Gallery Tokyo "Itadzu Lithograph Print Studio Exhibition" DELL GALLERY@QUEENSLAND COLLEGE OF ART Australia "New Year's card by japan Artists" Beograd Serbia
2007 “Hommage Masayoshi Nakamura - 30th Anniversary Special Project” Hagurodo, Tokyo
2009 “Shibuya Style” Shibuya Seibu Tokyo
2010
“Visage vol.2” GALLERY MoMo Ryogoku Tokyo
2014
CORES+4 Lloyd Works Gallery Yushima
2015 “Sunface” Uniqlo Ikebukuro Sunshine 60 Street Store Tokyo “New Acquisition Exhibition” Arts Maebashi Gallery 1 Maebashi “Peko-chan Exhibition” Hiratsuka City Museum of Art Hiratsuka
2016 “Koreze Ikinzen Exhibition” spiral Tokyo “Break Eve Exhibition” spiral Tokyo
2017 “Animal Exhibition” Bunkanura Gallery Tokyo
2018 “Focus” TEZUKAYAMA GALLERY Osaka
2019 “Break Eve Exhibition” Roppongi Hills A/D Gallery Tokyo Break Eve Exhibition x Ginza SIX, Tokyo Art Fair
year 2012
“ULTRA004~Emerging Directors Art Fair” Spiral Building Tokyo
ART OSAKA Lloyd Works Gallery Osaka
2013
ART OSAKA Lloyd Works Gallery Osaka
2014
ART OSAKA Lloyd Works Gallery Osaka
Asia Contemporary Art Show Lloyd Works Gallery Hong Kong
2015
ART OSAKA Lloyd Works Gallery Osaka
2016
ART in PARK HOTEL TOKYO Lloyd Works Gallery Tokyo
2018
ART ON PAPER NEW YORK
2019
One Art Taipei Taipei
2020
Art Fair Philippines

Award
2009 <br>13th Maebashi Art Competition Live 2009 Grand Prix

Others <br>Public Collection Arts Maebashi Hoshino Resort Kai Nagato

<Click here for ARTIDE Vol.2 special page>
https://tideisturning.com/pages/artide-vol-2

<Click here for ARITDE Vol.1 product page>
https://tideisturning.com/collections/artide/products/multi-compact-wallet-kihara-chiharu

<Click here for ARTIDE Vol.1 Makuake page>
https://www.makuake.com/project/artide/