Phillips Presents (Re)Trace Kusama to Shiota

World’s First Exhibition Dedicated to the Dialogue Between Yayoi Kusama and Chiharu Shiota, Two of the Most Important Japanese Contemporary Female Artists

On View at Phillips’ New Asia Headquarters in Hong Kong’s West Kowloon Cultural District from 18 to 30 April

Building upon the phenomenal success of its new Asia headquarters opening in Hong Kong’s West Kowloon Cultural District, Phillips is pleased to present (Re)Trace Kusama to Shiota, an exhibition featuring over 40 works by two Japanese contemporary art stars Yayoi Kusama and Chiharu Shiota. Open to the public from 18-30 April at Phillips’ galleries in West Kowloon, the exhibition includes a non-selling group of artworks by Chiharu Shiota, the largest collection of the artist ever presented to the public in Hong Kong. This group of non-selling pieces has been generously provided to be on loan by Mr. Jay Pang of ARTICKS. Showcased alongside this group of museum grade works will be a series of iconic creations by the two female artists that are available for purchase through Phillips’ Private Sales.

Among the exhibition highlights is Chiharu Shiota’s State of Being (Dress), an immersive, all-encompassing piece in a powerful red colour reminiscent of organic forms and blood vessels. Shiota incorporates found everyday objects such as clothing, shoes or dolls, with her use of red threads visualising human connections and relationships. The work measures 260 x 180 x 85 cm, and is the first large dress installation ever exhibited to the public in Hong Kong. Also highlighting the exhibition is Yayoi Kusama’s Six Guests, executed in 1986, when the artist’s sculptures contained poetic and personal undertones. Here the artist’s signature phallic shapes still blanket the objects, but do not pose a menace. Surrounded by bowls, a jug, flowers, and a pineapple, Kusama’s creations are brought into the safe, kitsch-infused realm of quotidian femininity and family life. With Six Guests Kusama defiantly seizes control of her discourse, and the phallus is no longer an object of fear that dominates the narrative of the work, but is instead wholly contained and controlled by the feminine.

Other highlights include Yayoi Kusama’s mixed-media installation, Death of an Illusion. The flower depicted in the present work is a recurring motif in Kusama’ oeuvre, symbolising a multitude of different topics, and her fascination with organic forms can be fully felt through it. Prominently exhibited internationally in London and Brisbane, I Who Sing in Celebration of Humanity is a pioneering work of Yayoi Kusama’s large scale colourful square canvas series named My Eternal Soul which began in 2009, the same year the present work was executed. The work titled Skin is a rare canvas piece that beautifully condenses the essence of Chiharu Shiota’s signature oeuvre. Though the work is flat, the thread lends the piece a three dimensionality that is unique to the artist and can be seen as a sculpture as well as a canvas.

(Re)Trace Kusama to Shiota
Exhibition: 10am to 6pm, 18-30 April, 2023
Location: G/F, WKCDA Tower, West Kowloon Cultural District, No. 8 Austin Road West, Kowloon, Hong Kong
https://www.phillips.com/store/retrace