No excuses for showing up

Kaito’s works consist mainly of oil paintings on canvas. While brewing a disquieting atmosphere, they are characterized by use of vivid colors and an arrangement of motifs that could even be seen as arbitrary. The diverse motif assortment includes men without faces, oddly shaped dogs and tigers, and stuffed animals radiating a strange aura. Motifs associated with violence, such as tools with sharp pointed claws, belts, harnesses, and blades, appear in all of these paintings. Beginning at age nine, Kaito posted pictures she had drawn by computer on internet bulletin boards, and did not concentrate on making “skilled” drawings. She was, on the contrary, heavily influenced by underground contents that could definitely not be viewed in social life, and built up a world view that is all her own. In the case of an artist who has come to grips with herself through painting, the handling of sexual and immoral images cannot be equated with manifestations of wrath and suspicion toward society. Instead, through her depictions of narcissism filled with immorality and shame as the selfish inner world latently existing in the hearts of many, we come to realize that deviations from common sense and social norms can in themselves be a kind of salvation, and at the same time, that art per se possesses a similar quality. This exhibition directs our attention to the nature of human beings, who end up receiving messages, both unconsciously and passively, from various meaningless things, such as constellations and the holes of overlapping belts. Our deep psyche is at work in unintended readings. The artist has stated that experience, knowledge, and other solid reasons are operating therein, and we cannot make any excuses for it. One wonders what viewers will discover in the weird teapot and constellation-like motifs newly appearing in these works. We are looking forward to seeing you at No excuses for showing up, a solo exhibition by KAITO Itsuki, a leading-edge artist who is broadening the stage of her activity both inside and outside Japan.