Taketo Ichikawa Solo Exhibition "Outline of Air 2" will be held at the Uehara store from December 9 (Sat) - December 12 (Tue)!

12/9(Sat)-12/12(Tue) Solo exhibition "Outline of Air 2" by wood artist Takehito Ichikawa at FOOD FOR THOUGHT Uehara store

Reservations required until 12:30 on the first day / No reservation required thereafter

- 

This will be Takehito Ichikawa's second solo exhibition at FFT. At the first exhibition last year, I was impressed by how many customers were moved, fell in love at first sight, and pondered "what should I use it for" and "where should I put it".

The title "Outline of Air" was named after words that naturally spilled out of my mouth, the shop owner, when I visited Mr. Ichikawa's workshop and saw him actually carving wood. I couldn't think of anything else.

I believe I said, "You're carving air too."

Mr. Ichikawa, who can instantly grasp the core of a large block of dried wood, whose finished form is unimaginable to an amateur, and draw the finished product in his mind. He creates beautiful works by utilizing the defects in the wood as they are.

I was surprised to see him carving as if a large part of the wood "was there" even though it "wasn't," and carving the air along with it. I don't think he himself is very conscious of it, but the air in the missing parts of the wood is also part of the work. To me, observing from the side, the "absence" emphasized the weight of "presence," and I saw the "outline of air" with an unusually high sharpness there. (←This is too conceptual and difficult to convey in words, so please come and see the work.)

"Ah, now that you mention it, maybe so," said Mr. Ichikawa, in his usual calm and collected manner.

I thought that Mr. Ichikawa probably continues to carve wood and air at his own pace with the same mentality, without changing the speed of his hands, no matter how difficult the material. And through the accumulation of such precise work, the accuracy of his work must be improving even further.

Another thing that surprised me about Mr. Ichikawa's work sculpturally was his approach to the "neck." As mentioned earlier, even seemingly fragile materials with knots and defects are boldly cut at the top, and the neck part is aggressively sculpted to a frightening degree.

It would be uncouth for this type of work to have a thick neck, so it's natural for an artist to aim for a slender neck, but I feel that the answer to the unique aura and tension that Mr. Ichikawa's works emanate as a whole lies in the strong proportional gap he creates between thickness and slenderness. This stance does not change whether it's a small piece or a large one.

The artist himself has both a gentle side and a competitive side. His beautiful works, and his amazing photography skills (please check out his Instagram). I am also interested in him as a person, as I believe he is no ordinary individual. 

Since his production method is "natural to the material," he has been given free rein to create this time as well. In addition to practical items such as his standard vases, decorative stands, and ring/glasses stands, I would also recommend them to our customers as statement pieces to display on tables or as interior decor.

We made only one request from FFT, and that was for him to create a high-footed compote dish that can be used daily for cakes and baked goods. The compote dish is also incredibly perfect. I especially want people who bake sweets to see it.

Please try placing several of Mr. Ichikawa's works together. You will feel the outline of air appearing around the works, and the atmosphere of the space itself changing. I believe that incorporating them into your life will give you various "discoveries." These are truly works that embody FOOD FOR THOUGHT.

This is a solo exhibition that I personally want many people to see. Please look forward to it.

Takahiro Igarashi, Representative of FOOD FOR THOUGHT  

-

Takehito Ichikawa "Outline of Air 2"
FOOD FOR THOUGHT Uehara Store
12/9 (Sat) - 12/12 (Tue)
OPEN 11:00~18:00

Reservations required until 13:00 on the first day

No reservation required thereafter

Reservations start at 10:00 PM on 12/2 (Sat) on our reservation ticket reception site (https://foodforthoughtshop.net/).

-

FOOD FOR THOUGHT Uehara Store
2-33-4 Uehara, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 151-0064
03-6416-8294