Noritaka Tatehana initially gained the global limelight as a shoe designer, and an extravagant one at that, creating several heel-less models for none other than pop chanteuse Lady Gaga. The current Woodcuts exhibition at Kosaku Kanechika gallery in Tokyo sheds light on a different side of Tatehana’s creative output. Inspired by the original Japanese incense culture in the Edo period and motifs from the Japanese literature classic Tale of Genji, Tatehana transforms historic elements into contemporary expressions, captured by 22 new paintings, all specially for the show, and both wall-mounted and floor-based configurations of red lacquered objects, and a number of acrylic sculptures which take cues from French philosopher Roland Barthes‘ book Empire of Signs. An additional section showcases a series of Tatahana’s aforementioned heel-less shoe designs (on through Oct 12).
Kosaku Kanechika
Terrada Art Complex, 1-33-10 Higashi Shinagawa, Fifth Floor (Shinagawa)
Tokyo 140-0002
Telephone: +81 3 67123346
Wed-Thu 11AM-6PM
Fri 11-8
Sat 11-6
Publishers Note
Just to be clear – superfuture® is a design blog and not a political commentator. No surprise there. The scope of our content has always been global and borderless, however that can often mean covering projects in countries where we will not agree with the politics or actions of those countries. In a world that’s as screwed up as ever right now, the focus of our support is to those designers, architects and other creatives who aim to make the world a more liveable one – as opposed to people that try their hardest to destroy it. So if a project hits our desk and we like it based on its design credentials, we may choose to publish regardless of its location or creators nationality. superfuture® has always been inclusive and hopes for all current wars, aggression, violence, hate and extremism to end.
