Jazz 1

Ryota Akiyama, Sydney Albertini, Audrey Fondecave, Hi-dutch Takahiro Hida, Rich Jacobs, Joji Nakamura, Aki Tsukamoto, T9G, Motonori Uwasu, Jeremy Yamamura

We are delighted to present our inaugural group exhibition in New York, titled Jazz 1. We have invited ten distinguished artists from Japan, France, and the United States to create works inspired by their unique interpretation of jazz. The exhibition, features over twenty pieces that span a variety of mediums, including paper, ceramics, wood, and canvas. Visitors can expect to encounter a lively and surprising vision of jazz that celebrates its timelessness and revered icons.

“Jazz is not just music, it's a way of life, it's a way of being, a way of thinking.”

—Nina Simone

“Jazz music is the power of now. There is no script. It’s conversation. The emotion is given to you by musicians as they make split-second decisions to fulfil what they feel the moment requires.”

—Wynton Marsalis

"Some people played the bass like sculptors, carving notes out of an unwieldy piece of stone; Mingus played it like he was wrestling, getting in close, working inside, grabbing at the neck, and plucking strings like guts. Then he'd touch the strings softly as a bee landing on the pink petals of an African flower growing some place no one had ever been. When he bowed it he made the bass sound like the humming of a thousand-strong congregation in church."

—Geoff Dyer

“I probably paint like a Jazz musician; I know where to begin but i don’t really have necessarily an idea of how the things are going to turn out.”

—Julian Schnabel

“Jazz washes away the dust of everyday life”

—Art Blakey

“Don't play what's there, play what's not there.”

—Miles Davis

Motonori Uwasu was born in Osaka Japan in 1975, and graduated from Osaka University of Arts in 1999. “I have a vague scene in my memory. A scene from my childhood in which I’m looking out from a car my mother or father was driving. Though I had no idea where we were going, I still remember simply watching snapshots of odd buildings and houses in a line.” A gentle mood and lush pastel colours make for an instantly enjoyable serenity, compounded by the innocence of the paintings’ infantile ‘wrongness’. The peace is, however, interrupted by the puzzles that are left for the viewer to solve. Story-less and anonymous landscapes beg the question, what is actually going on here? Theres no one to be seen, no depth, no sound, just an agitated unevenness to these seemingly tranquil suburban landscapes.

Joji Nakamura (b. 1974) currently lives and works in Yokohama, Japan. Joji Nakamura paints with his hands using acrylic, gesso, graphite and ink on canvas. His extruded faces are instantly recognizable. Nakamura’s dynamic strokes transform into his own rendition of a classic portrait, or a figure painting created with his body. He has held exhibitions in Paris, the Netherlands, Taiwan and Japan. In recent years, Nakamura shifted from the monotone paintings of his early years to color, presenting portraits and still life pieces in soft blotchy hues. Past solo shows include Clear gallery Tokyo, Peter Augustus gallery in Dallas, Galerie Mikiko Fabiani in Paris, and also the newly opened Night-out Gallery and Oil by BT in Tokyo.

Audrey Fondecave was born in France, and is now based in Tokyo since 2001. Audrey works in a wide variety of mediums including painting, collage, and installation. In recent years, she has been focusing on abstract paintings using organic materials such as natural mineral pigments. She is also the editor of "Too Much Magazine" and an art educator for children.

Sydney Albertini (b. 1973, Paris) is a French multidisciplinary artist based in Amagansett, Long Island, whose artwork explores the themes and techniques normally associated with what society calls ‘women’s craft.’ Albertini creates both two-dimensional works, in the form of large painted drawings, embroideries quilts and weavings, and three-dimensional pieces, with a focus on traditional fibre techniques such as knits and fabrics. Vividly colourful and irreverently abstract, Albertini’s works are full of energy and movement, with even the subjects of her paintings seeming to wriggle off the canvas. Every new series of works continues to explore relationships both strictly visual (flat versus volume and time) and emotional (man versus woman, individual versus society). Albertini attended the Atelier de Sèvres in Paris and then studied fresco painting at the International Studio Art Centre in Florence. She then moved to New York in 2002 to study fine art at Parsons School of Design and she showed with Ille Arts and Ashawagh Hall, Duck Creek Arts Centre, and the Parrish Museum. Her work is held in many, USA private and public art collections, such as the Parrish Art Museum, Southampton, USA and Guild Hall in East Hampton, USA.

Hi-dutch Takahiro Iida (b. 1972) uses a technique he developed through his career of repairing surf boards. Hi-dutch has been creating art works with resin combining yarns, woods, and other materials. He has been exhibiting his works extensively in Japan and in various places including, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Austin, San Jose, Hawaii, Taipei and Australia.