Eunoia is pleased to announce the group exhibition co-hosting with PAGIC Gallery at KITAHAMA N GALLERY. We will exhibit works by Motoi Hirata, Maja Malmcrona, Mi-Yeon and Jazz Szu-Ying Chen.  Eunoia will present you the works of four artists with the theme “AFFORDANCE”. It is a cognitive psychology term that means what the environment offers to the individual, as suggested by James J. Gibson. The value or meaning of contemporary art is always questioned; however, it is also dependent on the audience at the same time. Artworks that are produced by artists are given meaning by the audience (the environment) and are evaluated. When the audience thinks of the meaning of an artwork, isn’t that also giving meaning to that artwork at the same time? It would be nice if the audience could share the sense of expandability or polysemic expansion of the meaning of contemporary art.

Artists

Motoi Hirata (b. 1993) was born in Mie prefecture and is currently based in Kyoto. Inspired by small questions or hints of daily life, he constructs his own world, converting it into a painting and sharing it with the audience. He recently published a manga-style book with pencil drawings and is actively engaging with his own creations. Hirata’s works, which recall Surrealism, capture the viewers’ thoughts, drawing them into the realm of his philosophy and creativity.

Maja Malmcrona (b. 1993) is an artist from Gothenburg, Sweden. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in architecture from Umeå University and a Master of Science degree in philosophy from the University of Glasgow. She lives and works in Zurich, Switzerland. “With her background in working as an architect as well as her studies in philosophy, she is interested in space and our experiences of it, which are reflected in her own creations.” Her series of works are also influenced by Japanese artists and cultures and contain this unique atmosphere that attracts the audience’s eyes.

Mi-Yeon (b. 1963) was born in Seul, Korea, studied photography in Paris, and is currently based in Tokyo. She has been creating works inspired by her own identity and has also been publishing several works of literature that are highly evaluated by critics and audiences. She is creating her works and using philosophy, ideology, or belief as motifs. At this exhibition, we will present the body of work that is based on her childhood experience. The series of works that were influenced by Martin Buber’s I and Thou shows us several possibilities based on his philosophical thoughts. A part-time lecturer in the arts and crafts department at Nagaoka Institute of Design, 2015–2023.

Jazz Szu-Ying Chen (b. 1990) is a Taiwanese artist residing in Taipei after a 10-year stint in the EU and UK. She is currently one of the artists-in-residence at New Taipei City’s Banqiao 435 Art District. After graduating from London’s Central Saint Martin’s with a Masters in Art and Science in 2015, Jazz has been consistently exhibiting in both Taiwan and abroad. Jazz’s subjects of focus span from her interest in the beauty and grotesque within the field of anatomy and medical historical imageries to mythologies and folklore such as Nordic mythology and “Classics of Mountains and Seas.” She manipulates the dissected anatomical images and creates tableaus with mythological monsters and botanical details. The tableaus are meant to tell stories regarding the cultural clashes, her views on superstition, reflections from her Taiwanese roots, and the many facets of love.