Yuko Someya Solo Show - Art Review

[rousoku]

This month, Tomio Koyama Gallery is presenting their first show by one of their newer artists, Yuko Someya. The show is being held in Koyama's sixth floor space at Kiyosumi, downstairs from the current Dennis Hollingsworth solo show.

By the layout of the Someya show, the works appear meant to be viewed counter-clockwise, starting from the left as you enter the room. The first piece depicts an elephant-like creature wading in water away from a tangle of flowers and vines. The last piece is also an elephant - this time wading towards the vegetation. The names of the first and last piece in the show relate to the end and beginning of a dream, respectively.

In between the elephants that open and close the show are a couple of rabbits, a strange bird with a two-meter wingspan being watched by a deer-like animal, a large wreath, cobwebs, and a canvas filled with monochrome sketches of small creatures.

Someya's canvases range in size, shape, and composition. All are covered in washi paper, upon which the images are delicately inked and colored to give a translucent, dream-like feel. Some of the images - like the elephant in the first piece - scroll straight off the canvas, while other works feature large areas of blank space surrounding the fine brushwork.

This is a not a show that overwhelms your senses upon first entering the gallery. The works are subtle, but compelling. The more you study them, the more you are drawn into the fine details and interesting design elements that make up the bigger images. The largest image in the show, the bird-like creature, is especially worthy of extra attention.

With so many of their early artists becoming huge international art stars, it's great to see Tomio Koyama adding to their roster of young Japanese artists. It's especially refreshing that they are adding artists who aren't just copying the style of the artists who they have done well with in the past. While Yuko Someya's work does not remind me of any of their other "star" artists, it's still intriguing and she's someone who I will keep an eye on in the future.

Artist Bio: Tomio Koyama Gallery

[Sakaru]

hmm very interesting