Sokyo is pleased to present Chie Aoki's first solo exhibition - "A Body in Solitude". Since her university days, Aoki has consistently confronted the idea that “something” lies dormant within herself. In response, she has produced large scale lacquer sculptures of overwhelming impact titled “BODY”. These sculptures are of human forms that are distorted, stretched and dissolved above the waist.
One important moment of Aoki's career was during her student years when she encountered the lacquer sculpture “Orga” by her mentor and teacher, Nobuyuki Tanaka. It gave her "shock, as if one's heart was being grabbed". Peeking into the depths of the lacquer texture, Aoki felt “as if my own nucleus were engulfed in it,” and from then recognized that lacquer amplified “something” within herself and could express elements “too unobtainable to be described by form alone."
The production of Aoki's work begins with a subconscious dialogue with that “something". When one encloses oneself in a shell, emotions are deemed to be unprotected and exposed. In the endless darkness of solitude, shadows appear dimly, the anxiety of being swallowed by the darkness, and on the other hand, there is the feeling of being gently enveloped and protected. The series of works titled “BODY” projects the anxiety of solitude and comfort in the darkness, the shell, and the subconsciousness of self.
The smooth and deep mirror-like surface of lacquer undoubtedly takes unimaginable time and effort. Especially for the large surfaces of the Aoki's work, which takes as much as up to three days to polish. It is a grueling process that requires a great deal of patience. However, Aoki explains, the process of immersing oneself in the depths of the lacquer with all senses sharpened is essential to embedding oneself in the surface, which cannot be replaced by any other chemical material.
"Lacquer plays an important role in the expression of my spiritual world in my work, and I trust it completely and entrust it with everything I have." ---- Chie Aoki
This exhibition will feature three large works, including a reworking of “BODY - Inside and Outside”, the starting point for the “BODY” series, as well as four small works and six drawings.
