Miwa Ishiba @ Gallery MoMo Projects, Tokyo

Miwa Ishiba: I Want to Listen to You
GALLERY MoMo Projects, Tokyo
Through 16 December, 2017

GALLERY MoMo Projects presents the second solo exhibition by MIWA ISHIBA entitled I Want to Listen to You.

​In her early works, Miwa Ishiba used to paint animals and plants with the brush stroke like Japanese painting and has depicted mainly portrait since 2006. Portrait: Haru in 2009 seems to foresee the birth of her own child because it is reminiscent of her son even though he was born after the work. The artist’s motif is mostly the portrait of children and depicts controlled feelings with delicate brushwork. Her child has just flown to the new world through her works as a model within a radius of three meters.

​After the great earthquake and the nuclear accident happened in Japan in 2011, Ishiba could not dispel concerns about the future of her child; she attempted to create the incredibly cheerful paintings. Even though her child has grown up without any problems, she cannot help receiving the influence from the events and appearing it to the colors.

​The Japanese political issues give many parents the concerns over the future of their children. In contrast with her hopes and ideals that she felt from her son in everyday life, Ishiba reflects her concerns that many parents in Japan have to the face expression in the portraits of children. The works of Ishiba tell a lot of things that many people feel in the society. Ishiba succeeds in describing the fears she feels not only as an artist but also as a mother.

​In this Exhibition, Miwa Ishiba attempts to create her own world with subdued color and black lines by pencils and acrylic. The earth-toned works remind the old book illustrations like by Arthur Rackham and Aubrey Vincent Beardsley. Drawing several sketches for a work, Ishiba pursues her world she wants to express. The children portraits with various costumes seem to be for introduction for characters in a story and their facial expressions and their eyes show the story.

​Miwa Ishiba was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1973. After she dropped out Musashino Art University Junior College of Art and Design, she started to produce mainly illustrations. Ishiba, however, switched over to her career in a painter because she got attention at “GEISAI #6” in 2006. She has joined the group exhibitions and had the solo exhibition since 2008. This is her third solo exhibition at this gallery.

GALLERY MoMo Projects
2F 6-2-6 Roppongi Minato-ku Tokyo 106-0032 Japan
www.gallery-momo.com