Admission fee free

Cast: Kenji Urata

The exhibition “FACES,” which is Kenji Urata's fifth solo exhibition in 12 years, is an exhibition with the theme of human “faces.” It is an exhibition composed of diverse media such as paintings, CG, videos, and drawings.

“Face” is proof of humanity, and it is the thing that most symbolizes that personality. It is a place where important roles in human life, such as breathing and eating, are concentrated in addition to sight, hearing, and smell. At the same time, it is the most useful part for identifying individuals, and it is also a unique place where emotions (heart) appear due to facial expressions. It is a place that forms the foundation for communication between people, and it can also be said that it is the place that people pay the most attention to.

There is a way of thinking called an “average face” in defining a “beautiful woman” that attracts people's attention. It was revealed in experiments that synthesize multiple faces, and it is said that as the number of people increases, the closer the face is to average, but along with that, the number of people who accept it as “attractive” increases. It's facial globalism, so to speak.

Assuming that beauty = average value, it can be said that the parameter has increased rapidly in modern times along with the generalization of media and networks, and contrary to a society where diversification is progressing, people's awareness of “average” continues to rise without stopping.

Until now, Urata has used a variety of media, such as paintings, illustrations, photographs, videos, and AI images, with the theme of humans and their physicality. Of course, there are by far the most numerous works with faces as motifs among the works so far. However, in most cases, radical deformation is often performed, as if the balance of the face was intentionally misaligned. His production stance, which gives a glimpse of humanity only in dissonance rather than tonality, and in distortion and incongruity, is unique, and will sometimes go against the times and be seen as violent. However, that is why his work deserves attention, and it can also be said that questions about beauty and diversity are hidden.

• Urata Kenji

Kukuru Itoman

https://www.kukuru-itomancity.jp/