This exhibition views the world as a “chimera “, in which cells with different genetic backgrounds coexist within the same individual, and attempts to open the new door of the world by questioning the possibility of partial or total integration or combination of the various branches of the world through art.
Three years ago in 2021, the exhibition titled “Never the Same Ocean “ was held at HAGIWARA PROJECTS, co-curated by Kazuhito Tanaka (soda) and Itta Yoda (Paris-based artist duo). The exhibition questioned the evolving potential of art, which is being renewed in an ongoing process of diverse branching, by superimposing the relationship between error and evolution on art, with mutation as a keyword.
Now, in 2024, Kazuhito Tanaka and Ittah Yoda again organize an exhibition together titled this time as “Dreaming Chimera” . The term “chimera” generally refers to a biologically real entity or phenomenon, but in the “Dreaming Chimera” exhibition, the concept of chimera will be extended beyond limits, moving back and forth between existence (or reality) and absence (or dream).
Past and present, reality and dream, object and spirit, history and myth, evolution and degeneration, presence and absence will coexist while being connected. Here, contradiction will become hope.
We dream while living in a world that seems real. The world will be free and uncertain as it repeatedly joins together, and we will always be variable chimeras.
Every time we close our eyes, the world is renewed.
We are renewed.
We are the dreaming chimeras.
Yuji AKATSUKA
Born in Kagoshima Prefecture in 1955. Graduated from the Graduate School of Fine Arts, Tokyo University of the Arts, in 1981. His work features distinctive compositions where lines, shapes, and surfaces created by layers of paint merge with indistinct contours. In his constantly evolving abstract pictorial space, elements that evoke something familiar from everyday life may appear or seem to vanish suddenly. Since 1983, he has exhibited primarily paintings at Kobayashi Gallery (Tokyo), Kamakura Gallery (Tokyo/Kanagawa), Murayama Gallery (Tokyo), Galleria Finale (Aichi), Yonezu Gallery (Tokyo), Galerie Ando (Tokyo), Ikeda Bijutsu Gallery (Tokyo), Mizuho Oshiro Gallery (Kagoshima), Tir na nÓg Gallery (Tokyo), and others. Recent group exhibitions include: “China-Japan-Korea Contemporary Art Exhibition” Guizhou Art Museum (2023, Guizhou), “Ryan Gander: These Times” Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery (2022, Tokyo), “MOMAT Collection: Permanent Exhibition” The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo (2019, Tokyo), “Abstraction and Form – The Unmanifest” Kawamura Memorial DIC Museum of Art (2012, Chiba), and “Contemporary Painting” Kagoshima City Museum of Art (2007, Kagoshima).
Genevieve GOFFMAN
Born in Washington D.C. and is based in New York City. She graduated from Yale MFA Sculpture in 2020. Goffman’s recent solo exhibitions include The Triumph Of A Lonely Place at Espace Maurice in Montreal, Canada; Before It all Went Wrong at Hyacinth Gallery in New York in 2022; Grind at Money Gallery in St Petersburg, RU, 2021; Here Forever at Alyssa Davis Gallery, New York, NY, 2020. She has also shown work with Petzel Gallery, Blade Study, Eyes Never Sleep, Canada Gallery, Thierry Goldberg Gallery, Fragment Gallery, Lubov and Foreign and Domestic in New York, EXILE in Vienna, Austria, Patara Gallery in Tbilisi, Georgia, Workroom.Daipyat in Voronezh, Russia, and Harkawik in Los Angeles. Goffman’ s installation, The View, was exhibited in 2023 at the Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna Austria. Goffman has exhibited at NADA x Foreland in 2021 and Nada Warsaw with Alyssa Davis Gallery in 2024. Goffman’ s First book The Triumph of a Lonely Place was published in 2024 by Inpatient Press.
Isaac LYTHGOE
Born in Guernsey, UK, in 1989 and currently based in Paris. He graduated from the Royal College of Art, London, in 2014. His work explores how future technologies might influence societal structures, drawing on ideas rooted in storytelling and narrative traditions. Focusing on concepts that blend power structures, current events, science fiction, and theory, his work reflects a complex and allegorical approach. Recent solo shows include “Would I lie to you” Duarte Sequeira (2024, Seoul), “Sentient beings living worthwhile lives” Galerie Duarte Sequeira (2022, Braga), “ Railway Spine” Super Dakota（2020, Brussels）, “Friend of a Friend” Piktogram (2019, Warsaw). Recent group shows include “Arcanes et Rituals” FRAC Corsica (2024, France), “CUTE” Somerset House (2023, London), “After Laughter Comes Tears” MUDAM Luxembourg (2023, Luxemburg), “In winter;mute” Seventeen Gallery (2022, London), “Tree and Leaf” Hannah Barry Gallery (2021, London).
Ittah Yoda
A duo consisting of Virgile Itta and Kai Yoda, who graduated from the Royal College of Art in 2013. Their works, shaped through virtual reality, are materialized as paintings, sculptures, and installations. Using ‘genetic’ and ‘artistic’ information derived from their environment, their pieces are future-oriented while also deeply rooted in past art forms, such as cave paintings and ancient painting techniques. In recent years, their work has focused on the themes of scent and memory. Recent exhibitions include Musée d’art contemporain de Lyon (France), Bally Foundation（Lugano), ROH Projects （Jakarta), Collection Lambert (Avignon), CIAPV（Vassivière), Paris + by Art Basel (Paris), the Armory Show（New York), the Rencontres d’ Arles（Arles, France), Poush Manifesto（Paris), the Centre Culturel Jean Cocteau (Les Lilas), the Musée des Beaux Arts d’ Angers (France), Hagiwara Projects (Tokyo), SproutCuration (Tokyo), Cité International des Arts (Paris), Frieze N ° 9 Cork Street (London), ARCOMadrid (Madrid).
Maiko JINUSHI
Born in Kanagawa Prefecture in 1984, currently lives and works in Tokyo. She completed her graduate studies in painting at Tama Art University. From 2019 to 2020, she participated in the residency program at the Jan van Eyck Academie (Maastricht, Netherlands). Her work has evolved from creating drawings and novels centered around personal narratives to developing ‘a new form of literary experience’ that integrates video, installation, and performance. Recent solo exhibitions include “MAM Project 031: Maiko Jinushi” Mori Art Museum (2023, Tokyo), “Intimacy and Distances” Centre A (2023, Vancouver), “The Sound of Desire” HAGIWARA PROJECTS (2018, Tokyo). Recent group exhibitions include “Universal / Remote” Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art (2024, Hiroshima), The National Art Center, Tokyo (2023, Tokyo), Kumamoto City Museum of Contemporary Art (2023, Kumamoto), “Koganecho Bazaar” (2024, Kanagawa), “VOCA 2023: The Vision of Contemporary Art — New Artists in Flat Art” Ueno Royal Museum (2023, Tokyo), “And again {I wait for collision}” KINGS Artist-Run: Side Gallery (2019, Melbourne), “11th Yebisu International Festival for Art & Alternative Visions” Tokyo Photographic Art Museum (2019, Tokyo).”
Sachiko JIN
Born in 1988. Completed the Oil Painting course in the Graduate School of Fine Arts at Musashino Art University in 2016. Through painting and viewing, she explores the concept of living with images. Selected exhibitions include “Seeing the Same Thing” Second2. (2023, Tokyo) , “TWS-Emerging 2017” Tokyo Wonder Site Hongo (2017, Tokyo). Group exhibitions include “Sound Sleep in Tokyo, daydream” The 5th Floor (2022, Tokyo), “Playing Alone” curated by Seiichi Oku, part of ‘Hikikomisen” , “Radiation: Satellite Final” HIGURE 17-15 cas (2022, Tokyo). Recipient of the Kanagawa Prefectural Museum of Modern Art Prize in the Painting and Sculpture category at the 49th Kanagawa Art Exhibition, and a grantee of the 36th Holbein Scholarship.
Nika KUTATELADZE
Born in 1989 in Tbilisi, Georgia. Graduated from the Centre of Contemporary Art, Tbilisi (CCA-T) in 2013. His work consists of installations and sculptures that reflect everyday consumerism and various environmental issues. In recent works, he has been exploring the challenge of incorporating the transformation processes of architectural spaces and urban environments. Recent solo show include “La Maison Georgie” Maison Des Arts Georges & Claude Pompidou (2024, Cajarc, France), “They were born together, They will die together” Modern Art (2024, London), “My Neighbour is a House” Artbeat (2023, Tbilisi), “The way we live together” VITRINE Bermondsey (2023, London). Recent group shows include “Summer 24” CCA Berlin (2024, Berlin), “Portrait of a Man” X Museum (2024, Beijing), “Pinky?” PAUL SOTO (2023, Los Angeles), “Rites of Passage” Oxygen Biennial 2021 (2021, Tbilisi), Kunsthalle Tbilisi (2018, Tbilisi).
Kazuhito TANAKA
Born in Saitama Prefecture in 1973, he is an artist and director of soda. After graduating from the School of Commerce at Meiji University and working in the corporate sector, he moved to the United States and graduated from the School of Visual Arts (New York) in 2004. Focusing on the relationship between photography and painting, he explores new forms of abstract expression through photography, exhibiting his work both in Japan and internationally. In addition, he serves as the director of ‘soda,’ a Kyoto-based artist-run project, where he is involved in curating exhibitions. He is currently based in Kyoto and Fukuoka. In 2011, he won the Grand Prix at the TOKYO FRONTLINE PHOTO AWARD. Selected solo exhibitions include “Picture(s)” DOCUMENT (2024, Lisbon), Galerie Kandlhofer (2023, Vienna), KANA KAWANISHI GALLERY (2022, Tokyo), Paris London Hong Kong (2022, Chicago), “Self-Dual” Galley PARC (2019, Kyoto), “GOLD.
