Tokyo, Japan – WAITINGROOM is pleased to announce a group exhibition “Island with ONI” with Daisuke Ohba, Kengo Kito, Shinya Imanishi, Saya Okubo, Kurumi Kotani, and Naosuke Wada, through September 21st to October 20th, 2019. This exhibition will showcase two professors of Kyo University of Art and Design, Ohba and Kito, and 4 of their students who graduated in different years. It is the first time that they will show together.
Seven years ago when Ohba started teaching at the Kyoto University of Art and Design, there were very few students who aim to be the artist. There were almost no relationships/ connections between students and no share studios at all. Except only few exceptions, there were almost no alumni who exhibited at the museum in and out of Japan and was picked up by the commercial galleries. Two years later, Kengo Kito who returned from Berlin also started teaching with Ohba and it has been five years since then. Ohba and Kito say that there are more and more students and alumni who are working as artists actively such as participating in many kinds of exhibitions in and out of Japan, winning the prizes, having been picked up by the commercial galleries. Additionally, lots of collectors, galleries and curators visit the graduation exhibition at Kyoto University of Art and Design from Tokyo to find up and coming artists and the reformation of the university has been receiving lots of good attentions. After graduation, relationship among Ohba, Kito and alumni from different years are continuing so that current students and alumni have chances to exchange opinions regularly. Because of all these situations, the layers of the university have been increasing and these bonds have been stronger rapidly for the past couple of years. We, the gallery, met one of the alumni, Saya OKUBO, in 2017 and started working together, and then started knowing the relationship among Ohba, Kito, current students and alumni. Throughout experience of meeting them and seeing the situation, this painting exhibition came together.
