DESIGNTIDE TOKYO

PROGRAM

Imagining Satellites

In "The Dream of the Satellite," we explore the profound motivations behind the creation of works rooted in the individuality of artists and designers amid societal expectations. Curated by Takuto Ohta, this exhibition presents a diverse array of works that emerge from each artist's solitary journey, revealing the significance of introspection and the spirit to challenge conventional norms. By redirecting attention to the initial impulses behind the act of creation, the exhibition raises questions about the necessity of independently establishing forms. These works go beyond mere visual representation, encapsulating the stories of fragility that accompany the creative process. Viewers will confront the essence of the act of creation and become aware of the pure desires that support artistic expression.

EXHIBITORS

Solaya Nagai

Solaya Nagai was born in Saitama Prefecture in 1991. Graduated in 2016 from the Graduate School of Art and Design, Musashino Art University, specializing in sculpture. Inspired by subtle doubts within everyday life, Nagai creates and presents works that transform questions about the senses and perceptions people unconsciously hold into various materials and forms.

Major solo exhibitions include Artist Project #2.07: "Near Views from a Detour" at the Museum of Modern Art, Saitama (Saitama, 2023); Nameless Forms at Musashino Art University gFAL (Tokyo, 2018); The Loud Whisper at HARMAS GALLERY (Tokyo, 2017); and Walking North, Facing South as part of PHASE2014 at Aomori Museum of Art (Aomori, 2014). In 2024, he was awarded the Tokyo Metro Urban Development Special Prize in the 23rd AGH Invitational Competition.

Kumi Kaguraoka

Born in Tokyo, Japan. Lives and works in Tokyo
2012 M.F.A., Musashino Art University, Department of Scenography, Display and Fashion Design

Kaguraoka focuses on the interface between human society and the body, exploring the ""image of the body"" through cultural universality.

Her main work includes "Metamorphoses of Beautiful Bodies," which is a research-based production that delves into the aesthetic value underlying artificial body modifications such as decoration, restraint, and excision, reconsidering them in the context of the fourth value, ""aesthetic power,"" following intellectual, physical, and financial strengths within human society. The work primarily consists of wearable three-dimensional pieces forming aesthetic bodies, accompanied by design drawings, prototypes, videos, photographs, and collected materials and texts from research, all incorporated into an installation.

Recent exhibitions include:
“The lens within your heart" from the TAKEUCHI COLLECTION”, WHAT MUSEUM (2023; Tokyo, Japan)“, My body becomes my heart?”SusHi Tech Square, (2023; Tokyo, Japan)“, The Metamorphoses of Beautiful Bodies.-Consideration about the aesthetic value of the future body”SEIBU SHIBUYA (2022; Tokyo, Japan)“, The REBEL Exhibition”The Untitled Space (2022; New York, USA)“, kapCHər”The New York Art Residency and Studios Foundation (2022; New York, USA), and“The Art Science Exhibition at Kyoto University London University Goldsmiths School of Art and Science International Symposium - Art Innovation Exhibition 2019”Kyoto University (2019; Kyoto, Japan).

Goki Muramoto

Artist. Born in Yamaguchi, Japan. Lives and works in Tokyo. He explores "mediation" encompassing perception, communication, and movement through the process of inventing and sculpting his own media. Major works include the Imagraph series, a medium that projects a video onto closed eyelids; the Lived Montage series, a medium that implements a fictional perception in which we share our vision when we share an object of our consciousness; and the dictionary/sculpture, Media of Langue, that depicts the chain of word translations. His work has been exhibited nationally and internationally.

Kensho Miyoshi

Kensho Miyoshi received his PhD in 2020 from the Royal College of Art, London, for his contribution of the design programme centring on kinaesthetic empathy for designing the movement of objects. In the RCA’s graduation show in 2020, his PhD project was selected in Paola Antonelli’s curated collection A Sense of Humanity. He is the author 'Designing Objects in Motion: Exploring Kinaesthetic Empathy' published from Birkhäuser in 2020.

Holding an MEng and BEng in Aeronautics and Astronautics from the University of Tokyo, Kensho has engaged in aerospace-related interdisciplinary projects, such as Phenox (autonomous interactive drones) and ARTSAT (satellite for art use), and, as a creative practitioner, has designed kinetic sculptures and installations, such as Ripple Clock and Puwants. After working at the DLX Design Lab of the University of Tokyo, he has been awarded a postdoctoral research fellowship by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science from April 2020, and is currently based in Tokyo. Kensho also co-leads the activity of a Tokyo-based experimental design studio, Studio POETIC CURIOSITY.

Sota Kodera

Born in 1996 in Ome City, Tokyo. Graduated from the Graduate School of Musashino Art University, majoring in Fine Arts, Oil Painting Course in 2021. Advocating for the “Iru-ha” (Existence School) that showcases the body in space, exploring new forms of performance and installation. Recent exhibitions include “Roppongi Art Night 2024” (National Art Center, 2024), “EASTEAST_TOKYO 2023” (Science Museum, 2023), “Interface” (CON_, 2022), “Stone Tape - An Exhibit That Curses You When Seen” (PARA, 2022), and “Training City” (Token Art Center, 2022).

Kazuhiro Toyama

Born in 1994 in Tokyo. Graduated from Musashino Art University with a major in Metalwork in 2017. Served as a research assistant in the same laboratory until 2022 and is currently active based in Kanagawa Prefecture.

Recent notable activities include "GO FOR KOGEI" (Toyama Prefecture, 2024), ""LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize"" (France, 2024), and a solo exhibition titled "Earth, Metal, Vessel" (GINZA SIX, Tokyo, 2023). Significant awards include the "Forbes JAPAN 30 UNDER 30" MUFG Special Award (2023), the Next Generation Award at the "Kanazawa World Craft Competition" (2022), and the Bronze Award at the "Cheongju International Craft Competition" (2021). Her works are housed in the National Cheongju Museum (Korea).

Toyama is passionate about creating metal works that break down images and preconceived notions of metal materials. isr fascination with the expressive texture of copper began when he accidentally melted it during the welding process. Finding a parallel between the reconfiguration of liquid metal into new forms and the circulation of energy on Earth, Toyama launched his current project, ""Biophilia,"" in 2019.

Yuta Itagaki

Yuta Itagaki was born in 1994 in Tokyo. He graduated from the Interior Design Course of the Environmental Design Department at Tama Art University in 2015. In 2016, his graduation project, "The Bleeding Shelf," was recognized and presented at the Japan Pavilion of the Salone del Mobile Milano. In 2017, he established the fashion brand "G.I." based in Tokyo. In 2019, he founded KIENGI, where he also established the fashion brand "G.I." To become well-versed in production related to looks and advertising, he taught himself photography and videography, which he now handles. He serves as the creative director of the brand. Since the launch of KIENGI, he has been involved in web advertising for companies and brands, as well as art direction for fashion brand looks.

At first glance, the seemingly ambiguous product is a pillow equipped with the latest technology. It presents a new proposal that surpasses imagination and significantly impacts the bodies of humans, who spend about one-third of their lives sleeping. Additionally, new concepts require new forms, and PIXX serves as a prime example of this.

Akane Endo

Akari Endo primarily creates three-dimensional works using lacquer as a craft material. By utilizing the unique values of lacquer and focusing on relationships such as center and periphery, she aims to re-evaluate everyday life, lacquer art, and crafts in general.

Biography:

Born in 1997 in Okayama Prefecture
Graduated from Kanazawa College of Art, Department of Crafts in 2020
Completed the Graduate School of Art and Craft at Kanazawa College of Art in 2022

Major Exhibitions:
2024: 80th Anniversary Kanazawa Craft Exhibition (Ishikawa/Kanazawa M'za)
2023: Traveling group exhibition at three domestic galleries "'Oumuamua" (Tokyo/gallery TOWED → Osaka/art gallery opaltimes → Okayama/OF)
Group exhibition ""Current Expressions of Lacquer Vol. 3"" (Tokyo/Nihonbashi Takashimaya 6F Art Gallery X)
2022: KOGEI Art Fair Kanazawa 2022 (Ishikawa/Hyatt Centric Kanazawa)
"The Time of Freshness 2022 - Opening the Future of Lacquer Art" (Ishikawa/Wajima Lacquer Art Museum)
Solo exhibition ""WHAT CAN I PROTECT?"" (Ishikawa/Art Shop Getsuei)

CURATOR

Takuto Ohta

Born in France in 1993. Completed in 2022, 9th Laboratory, Department of Design, Tokyo University of the Arts. He creates poetic and futuristic designs mainly for furniture. He continues to express this through words and forms, focusing on the senses that have been lost as a side effect of the development of civilization and the emergence of culture. Main exhibitions include (Dropcity, Italy), (Tortona area, Italy), (Korea), and (USA).