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Iain Baxter&
Thursday 9 February 2012
Atsushi Kaga "Clarity, flowers and sometimes happiness" Acrylic on canvas, 80 cm x 60 cm
Behind the playful and surreal facade of Atsushi Kaga’s misleadingly simple and faux-crude works lurks much darker territory wherein the artist confronts (through the eyes of a self-proclaimed ‘Otaku’) serious issues of cultural politics, paranoia, the complex search for personal identity and the daily philosophical crises of the harsh realities of the world. Influenced by the Japanese story-telling cultures of Manga and Anime, his sharp humour and extraordinary imagination takes the viewer, willingly, on a journey of exploration through a complex and often brutal, but very funny, alternative world.
Originally from Tokyo, Kaga studied Fine Art at the National College of Art and Design, Dublin, graduating in 2005. He currently lives and works in Ireland. Recent and forthcoming projects include a residency and solo exhibition at Galeria Leme, São Paulo, a studio residency at Fountainhead, Miami, followed by a solo presentation of his work by Mother’s Tankstation at NADA Art Fair, Miami. Kaga has exhibited at Galerie Nicolas Krupp, Basel, and Temple Bar Gallery, Dublin. His solo exhibition in the Butler Gallery, Kilkenny, in 2008, met with critical acclaim. A solo exhibition of his work was shown at Mother’s Tankstation, Dublin,in 2010.
Irish Museum of Modern Art website:
ReplyDeleteBehind the playful and surreal facade of Atsushi Kaga’s misleadingly simple and faux-crude works lurks much darker territory wherein the artist confronts (through the eyes of a self-proclaimed ‘Otaku’) serious issues of cultural politics, paranoia, the complex search for personal identity and the daily philosophical crises of the harsh realities of the world. Influenced by the Japanese story-telling cultures of Manga and Anime, his sharp humour and extraordinary imagination takes the viewer, willingly, on a journey of exploration through a complex and often brutal, but very funny, alternative world.
Originally from Tokyo, Kaga studied Fine Art at the National College of Art and Design, Dublin, graduating in 2005. He currently lives and works in Ireland. Recent and forthcoming projects include a residency and solo exhibition at Galeria Leme, São Paulo, a studio residency at Fountainhead, Miami, followed by a solo presentation of his work by Mother’s Tankstation at NADA Art Fair, Miami. Kaga has exhibited at Galerie Nicolas Krupp, Basel, and Temple Bar Gallery, Dublin. His solo exhibition in the Butler Gallery, Kilkenny, in 2008, met with critical acclaim. A solo exhibition of his work was shown at Mother’s Tankstation, Dublin,in 2010.