《Imitation of Nature #3》2025, 910×660mm, Sumi ink gold paint oil and acrylic on mulberry paper
Ginza Tsutaya Bookstore (6F GINZA SIX, Chuo-ku, Tokyo) will hold Sao Tanaka's solo exhibition "Imitation of Nature" on the in-store art wall from Saturday, May 24th to Friday, June 13th, 2025.
Special page | https://store.tsite.jp/ginza/event/art/47273-1358290512.html
·overview
Sao Tanaka is a New York-based artist who primarily works on paintings. Based on the theme of "Universal Landscape," she creates imaginary landscapes that evoke the Book of Genesis by combining natural elements such as water, light, fire, air, and land.
This exhibition will feature ten new works depicting objects such as clouds and trees created with generative AI in landscapes reminiscent of medieval ink-wash landscape paintings. By realistically depicting artificial objects in acrylic and oil paint and intentionally highlighting them in the ink-wash paintings, the work expresses the contradiction between the binary opposition between "natural" and "artificial" in today's world where AI is rapidly developing. The work attempts to express the concept of "nature," which has been defined ambiguously and intricately by humans, who are also inherently a part of "nature."
《Imitation of Nature #3》2025, 910×660mm, Sumi ink gold paint oil and acrylic on mulberry paper
《Imitation of Nature #7》2025, 825×555mm, Sumi ink gold paint oil and acrylic on mulberry paper
・Artist statement
I draw landscapes by collecting natural elements such as light, water, rocks, and air from different art histories and visual cultures. Landscape paintings are often associated with specific countries or regions, but by drawing "universal landscapes" as opposed to "national landscapes," I express that both are virtual things created by our imaginations. In a broader context, I am interested in the boundaries that divide us, from small boundaries like the skin of an individual to large boundaries like nations.
I imagine a "shared landscape" in the creation myths of different parts of the world. These creation stories answer the questions of "who are we?" and "why does this land belong to us?" For example, Japanese mythology tells of the creation of the Japanese archipelago from chaos, while the Bible tells of God bringing the world and light from nothingness. Similarly, scientific explanations such as the birth of the Earth from a planetesimal impact 4.6 billion years ago also serve to legitimize our social identities and explain the connection between people and land. I paint the moment before these collective identity stories begin, a landscape that no one has ever seen before.
I majored in Japanese painting, and later learned that the term "Japanese painting" and the classification of paintings were established as an "art genre named after a country" in connection with the formation of national identity in modern times. I also learned that many "traditions" that seem to have continued since ancient times were actually created by specific individuals relatively recently, and have often been used to assert the legitimacy of a nation. I find the way in which these stories are created by selecting and combining various cultural elements to be chimeras of intrigue. So I paradoxically mimic this process, trying to create "universal" landscapes (and at the same time impossible landscapes) by using somewhat discordant expressions that seem to have been cut and pasted together from landscape elements of different art histories and visual cultures.
Tanaka Sao
・Artist profile
Sao Tanaka
Born in Tokyo, she currently lives and works in New York City. She received her BA in Japanese painting from Tama Art University and her MA in sociology from Hitotsubashi University. She also studied at the School of Visual Arts in New York. Her work has been exhibited both in Japan and abroad, including at The Blanc and Mizuma & Kips Gallery in New York, Bunkamura Gallery in Tokyo, and Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art. She has participated in artist-in-residence programs at the NARS Foundation (New York), Vermont Studio Center (Vermont), and Sakia Artist in Residence (Awajishima).
He received the Pola Art Foundation's 2024 Overseas Training Grant for Young Artists, the Hiraizumi Curator's Award at the Shibuya Art Festival 2019, was selected for the Genbi Anywhere Project Call for Entries 2018 at the Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art, and won the Grand Prize at the 5th 21st Century Asia Design Competition (sponsored by Kyoto University of Arts). He has also undertaken commissioned work for Farm to Me (Tokiwa) and Balcon Tokyo (Roppongi).
・Sales
The exhibited works will be available for sale at the venue from 10:30 on Saturday, May 24, 2025.
*Depending on the pre-sales situation, sales may end before the start of the event.
・Exhibition details
Sao Tanaka solo exhibition "Imitation of Nature"
Date: May 24th (Sat) – June 13th (Fri), 2025
Time | 10:30-21:00 *Closed at 18:00 on the last day only Venue | Ginza Tsutaya Bookstore Art Wall Organizer | Ginza Tsutaya Bookstore Admission | Free Inquiry | info.ginza@ccc.co.jp
Special page | https://store.tsite.jp/ginza/event/art/47273-1358290512.html
Ginza Tsutaya Bookstore
We connect art, Japanese culture, and life through books, and propose "life with art."
Address: 6F GINZA SIX, 6-10-1 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0061
Business hours: Please check the store's website.
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CCC Art Lab
CCC Art Lab is a planning group within the planning company Culture Convenience Club Co., Ltd. that proposes "a life with art." Through proposing "a life with art," we hope to bring art closer to people, make people's lives happier, and contribute to creating a better society. Based on the knowledge we have gained through many years of business experience in store planning, art media, product development, event production, and more, we propose plans with an approach that only we can take.
https://www.ccc-artlab.jp/
[Culture Convenience Club Co., Ltd. (CCC ART LAB)] Press release
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