The opening exhibition of YOD Gallery will hold the art exhibition by Issay Kitagawa, who has been active principally as a graphic designer and an art director.

Kitagawa was born in Kasai city, Hyogo, and joined the design & print company "GRAPH" after his graduation from Tsukuba University. His unique and individual approach to graphic design, concerns about materials and possibilities using printing techniques are fused into the company policy, "Design X Printing = GRAPH". The scope of his activities has extended from graphic design, both in Japan and also overseas, serving as judges in world design competitions to lecturing at universities.

Recently, his artworks and art direction skills were shown at "LUCKY LUCK SHOW" which was held at21_21DESIGN SIGHT (design museum directed by Issay Miyake in Tokyo Midtown, Roppongi) in summer 2007. He created the stage setting where great masters of traditional comedy performed, such as Katsura Kobeicho and Issey Ogata, and the entire space in this evolutional event. He designed with the concept of "laughter", based on the traditions of Japan. His works of art and installations were also shown under the title, "Lucky Luck Show by Issay Kitagawa". Rather than Issay Kitagawa as a graphic designer, we were able to see him as "Issay Kitagawa as the artist". We thought that this would be suitable for the opening of YOD Gallery and requested him to do so in order to commemorate this special occasion.

In this exhibition, YOD Gallery will introduce new works of art that have been drawn out directly from Kitagawa's "Deeper Imagination" in the sleeping depths which exists in the basis of his creative activity as a designer. His works are mainly by mixed media that appeared by the process of the imagination stimulating the forming power in addition to his pursuit of the fields of the material, printing, and typography that had been cultivated whilst he is at GRAPH as a head graphic designer. In design, it can be said that the purpose of design is to reach a shared concrete target in the relation between a designer and a client, such as circulation to the world and improvement in sales. However, the technique is reversed in his works of art so that only the deeper imagination can stimulate all of the materials and shapes and involve them in putting flesh on his works.

The works that arose by such a process would make us fall into a curious sense that has not been shown via other materials and creative processes. We would like to search for a sympathy point with viewers starting with this special sense. We are aiming to find a new-age shape of art with all of you through Issay Kitagawa's works at YOD Gallery.