Artist Statement/ Biography

Kaori Someya uses traditional Japanese materials to express women who are having tough time in Japan's conservative contemporary society, but who are searching for ways of being and lives in the society. Her work narratively deconstructs personal experiences of the gender gap in Japan, frustrations in it, a kind of resignation, sadness and anger. Influenced by her mother, who used to make kimonos, and the experience studying mounting techniques such as hanging scrolls and folding screens, she explores a uniquely Japanese aesthetic Hare (special occasions) and Ke (ordinary days) through patterns and decorative expressions. She researches books on classical painting techniques published in the 17-19th centuries in order to practice what traditions should be continued in the modernization of Japanese painting.

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Kaori Someya (b.1977, Shimane, Japan) is a nihonga artist currently based in Tokyo, Japan. She holds MA in Cultural Properties and BA in Japanese painting from Tokyo University of the Arts, and went on to work at the university as an Adjunct Instructor, Research Assistant and Assistant Professor. She received numerous awards from the public entry exhibition “INTEN” and from museums in Japan. Her latest exhibitions include Sato Sakura Gallery in New York, USA, Selene Museum of Art in Toyama, Japan, Sato Sakura Museum, Tokyo, Japan. Her works are collected by Adachi Museum of Art, Sato Sakura Museum, Imai Art Museum and Niimi Museum of Art, Japan. < BACK