GALLERY MoMo

Opening times: Tuesday – Saturday 12 pm – 7 pm

Closed on Sundays, Mondays, and National holidays

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Opening reception: September 9th (Sat) 17:00 - 19:00

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GALLERY MoMo Projects/Roppongi will hold Miki Fukagawa's first solo exhibition titled "Green Lighthouse" from September 9th (Sat) to October 14th (Sat).

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Miki Fukagawa was born in Fukui Prefecture in 1996. In 2019, she graduated from Saga Art Junior College's Western Painting Course, and in 2021, she completed the master's course at the Graduate School of Fine Arts, Kyoto City University of Arts. She has had solo and group exhibitions in Fukui, Osaka, Kyoto, and other places. In 2020, her two-person exhibition "New-laid eggs vol.3" in the gallery with Minami Kobayashi received high acclaim.

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Through her works, Fukagawa expresses nameless things and uncertain existences, attempting to share a subtle sense of life with the viewer. Her work is based on the idea that recognizing "something" allows it to be perceived as "something like" without a specific name or meaning. Fukagawa believes that this opens up the possibility of sharing images even without specific names.

From the beginning, the sense of "bigness" has been an important element in her works and natural objects. "Large" refers not only to the overwhelming sense of actual size but also to the state of being separate from the name and meaning of the subject, having an independent and subtle sense of life. Fukagawa sometimes creates works by actively extracting interesting motifs from scribbles, but she also finds inspiration in actual objects such as large stones and trees in shrines, the gymnasium of her former elementary school, and worn-out stuffed animal key chains found on the roadside. Using clay, she creates semi-solid existences that are neither fully three-dimensional nor two-dimensional.

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The title of this exhibition, "Green Lighthouse," comes from the work that captured a special existence with a subtle sense of life in the lighthouse, which she had not noticed until one day. She is presenting the MAGNET series, which she started working on due to the subtle sense of vitality she felt in the lighthouse, similar to the feeling she had with the key chains found on the roadside. Please take a look at her unique worldview.

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Artist Comment

In the winter of the year before last, while driving along the coastal road that was my commuting route at the time, I saw a small lighthouse in a small fishing village glowing green. It's natural for a lighthouse to shine, but I hadn't noticed it before because I was passing by during the daylight. Before I knew it, it was glowing mysteriously! After realizing that, I began to feel a subtle sense of life in the lighthouse.

Every day thereafter, when I saw the lighthouse, I started to dangerously glance aside while driving, and eventually, I stopped the car and got out to see it up close. To my surprise, the nearby lighthouse had no sense of life and had the appearance of an industrial product.

The lighthouse that stood alone on the sea had a cross-like shape. During the day, it swayed in the unobstructed hot sea, and at night, the top of its head glowed green, making it a special existence.

If what I was seeing wasn't truly there, I decided to recreate my own lighthouse and create "Green Todai."

This time, I created works related to Todai, attempting to recreate the atmosphere of a "worn-out stuffed toy key chain" that I found on my way to work in Kanazawa, where I moved to in April of this year, mainly as part of the MAG Net series.

I hope to present something with a subtle sense of life that exists independently, regardless of the actual shape's name, function, or meaning.

- Miki Fukagawa, 2023

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1996  Born in Fukui Prefecture

2019  Graduated from Saga Art Junior College, Advanced Course, Western Painting Course

2021  Completed Master's degree at Kyoto City University of Arts, Graduate School of Fine Arts

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[Solo Exhibition]

2017  Gallery Keifu (Kyoto)

          trace (Kyoto)

2018  O Gallery eyes (Osaka)

2022  Fukui Bank Head Office Gallery (Fukui)

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[Group Exhibitions]

2017   "Tourbillon15 part2 HIDEKA OKADA + MIKI FUKAGAWA" O Gallery eyes (Osaka)

2018   "Shell Art Award 2018" The National Art Center, Tokyo (Tokyo)

2020   "New-laid eggs vol.3" GALLERY MoMo Ryogoku (Tokyo)

2022   "Reinan Art Exhibition: Mihama Wakasaji Contemporary Art Exhibition by Young Artists of Tomorrow" Naviasu (Fukui)

           "WAKASA Artistic Holiday Palaia Modern Art Exhibition" Palaia Wakasa Gallery (Fukui)

           "Kachuu" Art Space Saga (Kyoto)

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[Awards]

2017   Graduation Exhibition University Award

2018   Selected for the 1st Gifu Art Exhibition at the Seiryu no Kuni Gifu Art Festival, Shell Art Award 2018 Student Special Award

2019   Graduation Works Exhibition University Award, Graduate Special Award, Grand Prize at the 30th Mihama Art Exhibition

2021   Kyoto City University of Arts Exhibition 2020, Graduate Mayor's Award (Purchased work)