Calligraphy demonstration: Thursday, June 18, 7 pm
Calligraphy: Kimura Ryoyu
Belly Dance: Marea Mizuki
Music (koto): Chiaki Endo
Onishi Gallery is proud to present calligrapher Kimura Ryoyu in a solo exhibition entitled SHO (“calligraphy”). SHO will be presented with an exclusive calligraphy demonstration on Thursday, June 18, at 7pm. In the demonstration and performance, Japanese belly dancer Marea Mizuki and koto musician Chiaki Endo will collaborate with Ryoyu.
Kimura Ryoyu works with language to express ideas beyond words. She has been practicing calligraphy since the age of five and has exhibited in Japan and abroad. She merges past and present art forms by combining pop art with traditional Japanese lettering, and her work appears in corporate posters and product labels. In this way, her traditional art form consistently vibrates with contemporary relevance.
Kimura Ryoyu gains inspiration through teaching and absorbing the call of sacred spaces. She runs a calligraphy school in Ginza, Tokyo, and teaches calligraphy to children throughout the islands of Japan, including on Okinawa’s Miyakojima Island, where she has worked with local children in natural settings. She says that working with children and seeing them express themselves freely through calligraphy influences her own work. Ryoyu also visits sacred places such as shrines and temples in Japan–and cultural heritage sites throughout the world–to gather inspiration for her work.