The gallery presents artists ranging from post-war to contemporary, including Yayoi Kusama, Gutai, emerging Japanese talents, and international artists.

Following on from last year’s show, MAKI Gallery is pleased to present a solo exhibition by Los Angeles-based artist, Mungo Thomson. His TIME mirror brings us (the viewers) into the cover of ‘TIME’ magazine. It enables us to easily satisfy our vanity while revealing the existence of time, which leaves its mark on all of us, whether we wish it to or not.

Time is something we cannot see or touch. However, as the artist explains, “time happens in the mirror, looking into it every day, seeing time happen in your face”. The changes in ourselves that time brings to us (the ‘aging’, if we may use such a direct expression) – the work cruelly tells us that this is the very thing which makes time visible. We thereby lose the vanity we had. The TIME mirrors thus bring to light the theme of vanity that art has engaged with for centuries, illuminating from an unusual angle, our values relating to time.

Through these and other works, such as the ‘Stress Archive’ series which takes stress toys as their motif, or the ‘Rods and Cones’ series which was very well-received at last year’s exhibition, the artist reverses our perceptions and sheds new light on our values. We hope that many of you will take this opportunity to view his work.

MAKI Gallery is pleased to present a solo exhibition by Takahiro Yamamoto, an artist who paints meticulous reproductions of old postcards and portraits. By engaging with motifs whose raison d'être is replication, Yamamoto inquires into the nature of uniqueness and originality. On first seeing his work, it is the artist’s breathtaking, photorealistic technique that intrigues the viewer. But what is the unique concept hidden in the depths of this technique?
Behind the artist’s choices lies his desire to investigate the relationship between an original and its reproduction. In general, the original is considered to have value, while reproductions are deemed lesser. However, if a reproduction (printed material or photographs) suffers fading or damage, and there is another reproduction which has survived through the same amount of time, the ways in which they deteriorate are not the same. They fade or become damaged, each in their own time. Thus, time bestows uniqueness on those reproductions. It is here that the artist finds time itself, faithfully replicating it. By depicting ʻtime’ in this way, Yamamoto endows reproductions with the value of an original.
It can be said that the artist’s astounding technique is a necessary means to execute this concept. We hope that through the artist’s work, you will discover for yourselves the artist’s true intentions: to express the significance and value of time.