[Title] Guardian Angel
[Artist] Taiyo Kimura
[Date] January 21, 2015 to March 17, 2015
Selected as the Hermès annual theme for 2015 is “Flâneur forever” Flâneur is a distinctive French cultural term known to project the nuance of “rambler” or “dawdler.” That is, someone who gravitate toward wandering about without any set sense of direction or purpose. In the past, artists took to the streets of Paris to largely consign themselves to the rich flow of time found there. Against such a backdrop, the detection of seeds of creativity in all corners of the city served to sublimate the quality of their own artistic endeavors. This year’s kickoff window, emerging to seize the attention of what might be assessed as “Ginza strollers,” is the work of Japanese contemporary artist Taiyo Kimura.
“Discovering ideas can be a tough battle. There are times when gems come to mind in a flash, but then just as quickly vanish in the face of perceived needs for something even better. Likewise, though scrupulous searches may appear to have unearthed so-called pearls of methodology, such premised foundations are also prone to crumble at the drop of a hat. Then again, there are occasions when the instant I throw in the towel my mind overflows with thoughts, in no time transforming me into a flâneur rambling through the world of ideas.”
Aren’t there instants, within the most matter-of-course everyday scenes, in which one’s very existence assumes the sensation of an extremely peculiar phenomenon? At such times, we may arrive at the realization that these typical everyday scenes represent little more than the paralysis of our own potential sensibilities. To people engaged in this scene, the security guard standing at the door between the two windows is indeed the icon of the “everyday.” To express this vision, Kimura has incorporated the presence of such security guards into these windows domains.
“Between the dimensions of “looking” and “being seen,” a game naturally comes into existence. The trump cards in such pastimes are not necessarily limited to kings or queens (huge paintings, for example, or breathtakingly stunning women). The truly decisive factors, rather, lie in qualities more formless and fuzzy, liable to fade from sight under the sheer weight of excessive familiarity.
Security guards, meanwhile, exude their own unique presence. This stems from the fact that their work consists of standing watch, with their mere presence at such locations, even if not gazing in your direction, setting the game itself in action. Further incorporating an identity, structured as the role of looking, into the midst of the “looking and being seen” game that comprises the window display, guides the game itself down even more fantastic and implausible straits.”
Taiyo Kimura
Born in 1970. Since graduating from the Sokei Academy of Fine Art and Design in 1995, he has been active professionally both in Japan and overseas. Kimura is adept at tracking sensations of discomfort or distress within the causal matter-of-fact scenes of everyday life, and elevating those impressions to the realm of artistic creation. His works, at times coming across as strange and at others traversing into the surreal, function to gradually manifest smiles drawing out complex physical sensations, consciousness edging into the domain of the subconscious and other impressions on the viewing side. The ultimate result is greater critical awareness of the issues at hand. His major exhibitions to date have included “Expo I: New York” (MoMA PS1, New York/2013) and “theater of the world” (La Maison Rouge Foundation Antoine de Galbert, Paris 2013). Taiyo Kimura’s works are held in key collections at the Kadist Art Foundation (San Francisco), Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University (North Carolina) and other fine venues.