Japanese artist Seiji Shimoda’s art exhibition ‘In the twilight’ at Kalakendra
Kalakendra is going to organise Japanese performance artist, poet and Nippon International Performance Art Festival director Seiji Shimoda’s art exhibition titled ‘In the twilight’ from February 20 to February 24, 2024.
The five-day exhibition will be inaugurated on Tuesday (February 20, 2024) at 5:30pm at Kalakendra at Lalmatia in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Artist Seiji once again began painting during the pandemic after the late eighties. His only companion was painting because during the pandemic all public activities, including performance art, were suspended. He incorporated performance art with pandemic’s paintings in the gallery when he first began showing them.
The subjects of the paintings include Mount Fuji, flying piglets, the moon, cats, red-faced people, naked human figures and others.
Artist Seiji encountered the same circumstances during the pandemic, when people went farther apart and grew more solitary worldwide. He equated that loneliness with childhood where the lonesome moon in the sky and the cat were his only friends whereas the flying piglets symbolises the free spirit of the alcoholic.
The human figure ‘Ore Ore’ seen in Seiji’s paintings is actually a representation of the artist himself. It is obvious that, the naked human figure depicted in the paintings are actually a pictorial translation of Seiji’s early nude performances.
The newest series of Seiji’s paintings is ‘Red Face’.
In December 2023, when he was in Poland, he was conducting workshops with young artists along with performances. That time, he performed with red face paint, which delighted the young painters, who eagerly snapped photographs with him. But in discussions with artists of Seiji’s age who were present, the themes of communism and the struggle of that time came up again and again as a context for the use of red.
Seiji was deeply moved by the fact that the significance of the colour red had changed so radically over the decades. And he started painting the ‘Red Face’ series.
After starting the series, he continued to hand-hold small paintings of red face, leaving behind the scenes or people of the cities he visited. Just as red became the colour of all the people of the world during communism, the photographs of the city and people with red face painted on it seem to speak of the unity of a continuous humanity.
Seiji Shimoda has performed in nearly 60 countries and conducted workshops with artists of various ages in 30 countries.
Today at the age of 70, in the twilight of life, all his memories that has gone with art is presented in this exhibition.
The exhibition will feature the artist’s paintings, photographs of workshops conducted in Bangladesh from his previous visit and videos of the artist’s performance art.
Information about the Exhibition:
Exhibition Title: In the twilight
Artist: Seiji Shimoda (Japan)
Planning and presentation: Sanjoy Chakraborty
Research Assistants: Pallab Saha and Sabuj Sultan Anmon
Opening: February 20, 2024, Tuesday at 5:30 PM
Performance: Artist Seiji Shimoda (Japan)
Exhibition Duration: February 20 to 24, 2024
Time: From 4:00pm to 8:00pm
Venue: Kalakendra, 9/4, Block-D, Lalmatia, Dhaka 1207, Bangladesh
About Artist Seiji Shimoda:
Seiji Shimoda, Japan’s eminent performance artist and founder of NIPAF also known as Nippon International Performance Art Festival, began his artistic journey in Nagano city in 1953. Transitioning from activism to poetry in high school, he later shifted to performance art at 21 in 1975.
Seiji’s influence transcended borders as he performed across Japan and Europe, captivating audiences with his evocative body expressions. His pioneering efforts in organising art events in the 80’s paved the way for global collaborations, notably Japan’s inaugural International Performance Art Festival in 1993.
Seiji continued to nurture artistic dialogue through subsequent NIPAF festivals, including the Asian Performance Art series.
His involvement in electronic arts and participation in seminal performances further underscore his impact on the global artistic landscape with performance such as ‘On the Table’ (1994), and ‘Body and Nature’ (1994).
With museums seeking his expertise in curating world performance art events, Seiji’s legacy as a visionary leader in contemporary art endures. Through his dedication and passion, he has forged connections and inspired generations of artists around the world.