Sunset in the Morning 'Umi no oto', 2010, Colour pencils on cherry wood board, 120 x 90 cm, Courtesy the artist and Master Piper, London, Photo: 2010 Anna Arca

Kentaro Kobuke, 'Umi no oto', 2010, Colour pencils on cherry wood board, 120 x 90 cm, Courtesy the artist and Master Piper, London, Photo: 2010 Anna Arca

Sunset in the Morning 'I did not go to the park because it rained today', 2007, Type c-print, 46 x 56 cm, Edition of 3

, 'I did not go to the park because it rained today', 2007, Type c-print, 46 x 56 cm, Edition of 3

Sunset in the Morning 'J&S', 2010, Colour pencils on cherry wood board, 80 x 60 cm, Courtesy the artist and Master Piper, London, Photo: 2010 Anna Arca

, 'J&S', 2010, Colour pencils on cherry wood board, 80 x 60 cm, Courtesy the artist and Master Piper, London, Photo: 2010 Anna Arca

Sunset in the Morning 'Hello, Princess', 2003, Type c-print, 46 x 56 cm, Edition of 3

Masanori Ikeda, 'Hello, Princess', 2003, Type c-print, 46 x 56 cm, Edition of 3

Sunset in the Morning 'Ben', 2010, Colour pencils on cherry wood board, 80 x 60 cm, Courtesy the artist and Master Piper, London, Photo: 2010 Anna Arca

Kentaro Kobuke, 'Ben', 2010, Colour pencils on cherry wood board, 80 x 60 cm, Courtesy the artist and Master Piper, London, Photo: 2010 Anna Arca

Sunset in the Morning 'We are naked', 2007, Type c-print, 46 x 56 cm, Edition of 3

Masanori Ikeda, 'We are naked', 2007, Type c-print, 46 x 56 cm, Edition of 3

Sunset in the Morning

23 Apr—4 Jun 2010

Curated by Sayoko Nakahara

artists

Kentaro Kobuke, Masanori Ikeda

Master Piper is pleased to present a duo exhibition 'Sunset in the Morning' of two Japanese artists; Kentaro Kobuke and Masanori Ikeda. The former is a painter based in London, who works on wood-board with colour-pencil, and the latter is a photographer based in Tokyo, who takes single-shot photographs using 6x7 format.

Both Kobuke and Ikeda's styles are light, subtle and tranquil, and no shock tactics or visual attacks are employed. This typifies a neutral viewpoint frequently shared by the 'Post-Murakami and Nara generation' in the contemporary Japanese art scene.

Utilising familiar motives, the mystification evoked by unexpected changes of disposition in their work is what the title 'Sunset in the Morning' implies. Sentimentalism and nostalgia can also be aroused by their descriptions. These bizarre and innocent sensibilities unveil contemporary 'surreality'.

The limited catalogues are available at the gallery.


Kentaro Kobuke
Born 1975. Completed the MA in Fine Art at Chelsea College of Arts and Design. Collaborated with Comme des Garcons in 2003. Solo exhibitions include 'Names' (2008, AAA Gallery, Paris). Participated in The Franks-Suss collection (2010, Phillips de Pury & Company at Saatchi Gallery, London).

Masanori Ikeda
Born 1978. Started his series 'The Photo Studio of a Holiday' in 2003. Participated shows include 'Absolutely Private' (2006, Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography), 'A PRIVATE HISTORY' (2007, Fotografisk Centre, Copenhagen / 2008, Victor Barsokevitsch Photographic Centre, Finland).

Sayoko Nakahara is a curator and art editor based in London.

more;

'Sunset in the Morning': dépaysement generating a new surreality.

'Surreality' has been one of the essential principles of art for hundreds of years; it signifies a more intense reality than the real world. ‘Dépaysement’ (unexpected changes of disposition), established by the Surrealists of the 1920s, is one of the techniques used to illustrate 'surreality' in artwork. 'Sunset in the Morning''s artists, Kentaro Kobuke and Masanori Ikeda, employ meticulous practice to reflect upon this.

Utilising familiar motives, the confusion or mystification evoked by 'dépaysement' is implied in the title 'Sunset in the Morning'. In their work, both artists depict peculiarities: Kobuke, high-heel shoes sprouting from the edge of a branch or a little shark in a boy's hand, while Ikeda places peaches in a public bath or boxes of washing powder in a broadcasting room. These bizarre descriptions are the keys to unveiling contemporary 'surreality'. This 'surreality' should be completely distinguished from that of Surrealism or subsequent, related movements.

Significantly, Kobuke and Ikeda’s styles are light, subtle and tranquil. Their work is 'herbivorous' and no shock tactics or visual attacks are employed. This typifies a neutral viewpoint and sense of value; an ethos frequently shared by the 'Post-Murakami and Nara generation' in the contemporary Japanese art scene.

Emerging artists from the Japanese 'Lost Generation', including Kobuke and Ikeda, who became adults after the collapse of the Japanese economy in the 1990s, have a tendency to keep temperance in their representation. They take distanced attitudes towards society and seem to be floating with the ambiguity of existence in the maelstrom of consumerism. Although probably misconceived as dispassionate, hidden in depth, they actually embrace delicate but intense emotion; never being pessimistic.

This is the driving force of the creativity amongst young contemporary Japanese artists. This stoicism can resonate from Japanese traditional aesthetics such as those in 'Sado’ (the Japanese tea ceremony) or 'Nihon-Teien’ (the Japanese garden). Having considered this phenomenon, the main focus here is not Japanese uniqueness or exoticism but rather their positive and necessary efforts to survive a modern capitalist society in general.

The world of 'hyperreality' as defined by Baudrillard, has now become a part of daily life; people these days are disorientated by the incongruity of 'reality'. In order to recover a touch of 'ordinary reality', which might no longer exist, the artists from the 'Lost Generation' are serenely investigating today's 'surreality': not a story of intoxication or eccentricity but a substitute of ‘naïve reality'. This is the reverse of Surrealism.

Kobuke and Ikeda's 'dépaysement' does not elevate viewers to the fantastic, but rather cools them from the overwhelming world of simulation. They secretly elaborate; their work full of fresh and innocent sensibilities symbolising their sentimentalism and nostalgia. Furthermore, their unassuming practice, based on analogical methods - drawings in colour-pencil on wood-board or single-shot photography without digital enhancement - can be reminiscent of lost craftsmanship.

Today senses are dominated and anesthetized by the android nature of the contemporary, mass-produced world. However, the calm and objective artwork of Kobuke and Ikeda affects viewers gradually yet persistently, as if reminding them of the natural feelings of human beings. When noticing the slight yet potent ‘warnings’ in the gentle appearance of their artwork, the audience will be awoken from a hyperreal society, and the door to the new surrealistic world will open.


Sayoko Nakahara / Curator



Kentaro Kobuke
Born 1975 in Hiroshima. Painter. Completed the MA in Fine Art at Chelsea College of Arts and Design. Collaborated with Comme des Garcons in 2003. Solo exhibitions include Parfait (2004, SCAI The Bathhouse, Tokyo), Names (2008, AAA Gallery, Paris). Participated in the group show The Franks-Suss collection (2010, Phillips de Pury & Company at Saatchi Gallery, London). Currently based in London.

Masanori Ikeda
Born 1978 in Yokohama. Photographer. Started his series The Photo Studio of a Holiday in 2003. Group shows include Absolutely Private (2006, Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography), A PRIVATE HISTORY (2007, Fotografisk Centre, Copenhagen / 2008, Victor Barsokevitsch Photographic Centre, Finland). Solo exhibitions include SUN and GREEN (2008, KANZAN Gallery, Tokyo). Currently based in Tokyo.

Sayoko Nakahara is a curator and art editor based in London.