

KO-HEY! Arikawa: HAPPY GO ROUND® You are my Popstar!
Karuizawa Gallery 2, 3
2023.09.01 - 10.15
Ko-hey! Arikawa is an artist who continuously expresses "Happy" in his work. He has given "Matthew," an alter ego he created, an ideal world full of happiness and sparkles in his work.
Through Matthew, he fills the world with sparkling happiness. This is a remedial work for Arikawa to rewrite the past, who has an unfortunate upbringing, and it is also an ambitious theme of his activities.
His experience of living with a loving big family in Okinawa, where he temporarily lived in his childhood, the American 70s and 80s’ culture that he witnessed has had a profound impact on the worldview of his works. In the eyes of the young Arikawa, American-made toys and sweets glowed like a dream. The memory of the happiness and strong longing he felt at that time are intensely linked to his ideal image of "Happy". This is why his alter ego is a little red-haired boy named "Matthew-kun" and why the world he creates looks like a world of children.
In this exhibition, which marks the 20th anniversary of his career as an artist, Matthew will be the main character. The exhibition will feature his past works, which were created by composing motifs that symbolize "Happy" for Arikawa, such as apples, triangular-roofed houses, and birdsongs, as well as his new series which Matthew is walking, talking, and imagining freely and dynamically.
It’s all for the sake of happiness.








ABOUT

Ko-Hey! Arikawa
Ko-Hey! Arikawa
교토예술대학 미술환경과 M.F.A. 대가족과 함께 오키나와에서 어린 시절을 보낸 것과 일본 본토로의 반환 이후 미국화된 오키나와 문화 속에서 보낸 것은 복잡한 양육 환경을 가진 아리카와에게 매우 밝게 보였는데, 이런 경험이 아리카와의 작품에 표현된 ‘행복감’의 근원이라고 할 수 있다. 거리에서 그림을 그리며 활동을 시작한 아리카와는 2005년부터 매년 대규모 개인전 “Ko-Hey! Arikawa EXPO®︎" 를 개최하여 전시 기간 동안 12,000명 이상의 모든 연령의 관람객을 끌어 모았으며, 붉은 머리의 소년 “BEST FRIENDS Matthew Kun”은 오키나와와 일본 각지에서 다양한 프로젝트를 통해 사람들 사이에 가교 역할을 하며 모두에게 알려진 아이콘이 되었다.
2023.09.01 - 10.15
Karuizawa Gallery
전화: +81 (0)267 46 8691
팩스: +81 (0)267 46 8692
영업시간: 10:00 - 17:00 (10월 - 6월) 10:00 - 18:00 (7월 - 9월)
휴무: 월요일