Shiori Horie, The Scab Comes Off

Dates｜        November 18 (Sat) to December 16 (Sat) December 23 (Sat), 2023

Venue｜       √K Contemporary（6 Minamicho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo）

Organizer｜  √K Contemporary

Support｜     French Embassy ／Institut français du Japon

【Exhibition Period Extended】

Due to popular demand, Shiori Horie, The Scab Comes Off has been extended until December 23, 2023.

√K Contemporary is proud to announce the opening of Shiori Horie’s highly anticipated solo exhibition, The Scab Comes Off, on view from November 18 (Sat) to December 16 (Sat) December 23 (Sat), 2023.

Since Horie’s 2021 solo Gotoh Memorial Cultural Award Exhibition: An Overseas Training Program Achievement Showcase, A Breath Away, the artist has become a recipient of the prestigious VOCA Honorable Mention Award in 2021 and held her solo exhibition, “[Associated Exhibition] HORIE Shiori: Toward the Unreachable” at The Museum of Modern Art Kamakura & Hayama KAMAKURA ANNEX as part of “MATSUMOTO Shunsuke: On the 110th Anniversary of His Birth” in 2022.

On this occasion, Shiori Horie’s long-awaited major solo exhibition will debut approx. 110 new watercolor works. as well as new works from her VOCA Award-winning Partial Future series.

In recent years, the artist has faced an inaugural sense of trepidation towards Nihonga (Japanese painting, which involves the use of mineral pigments). Nevertheless, despite her lingering distress, what kept her going was her motivation to paint. Subsequently, the artist would return to drawing; a medium she started to explore during her time studying in Paris. Rendered on small pieces of white paper, these works present mysterious, anthropomorphic faces, which the artist calls “scabs”. From the soft layers of vivid, overlapping watercolors to the feeling of movement captured by her brushstrokes, the subtle yet intimate character of these works seems to allude to the artist’s inner conflict and her acceptance of it. Just as scabs are emblems of convalescence, these works appear as if they reveal a glimpse of the artist’s healing process as Horie begins her journey again by re-accepting art as a fundamental part of herself.

Gifting form to the juncture between injury and recovery, these works embody one of the most universal experiences of life.

The exhibition will further feature new works from Horie’s Partial Future series, which she produced following her 18-month hiatus from Nihonga, such as her 2022 VOCA Honorable Mention Award-winning work. Recognized for its overwhelming presence, the esteemed work is composed of a row of figures that pervade the entirety of the composition. Known for her mastery of the material, the artist’s unique technique and expertise offer her mineral pigment works a distinct texture that differs greatly from her drawings. Delicate and ephemeral, yet substantial and dense, these portraits signify strength in the face of a fragile existence. For this occasion, the exhibition will present new works from her series, as well as the award-winning work, Partial Future #2 – #6 (2021).

Shiori Horie’s anthology, A Breath Away* which features the essay that inspired the title of the exhibition The Scab Comes Off (2020, Gunzo, Kodansha) will be available for purchase at the exhibition.
*Please note that all essays are in Japanese only

Please take this opportunity to view the works of a leading artist who continues to persevere, grow, and express these developments throughout her pioneering oeuvre.

“The Scab Comes Off”

For me, painting entails the use of mineral pigments.

I want to return to the days when I would paint a color on a piece of paper,

and, as more colors came to mind, my hands would instinctually begin to move.

But, before I knew it, my paint bottles had begun to collect dust.

I feel like I’m drowning in my painful memories. Yet, I must pick up my brush.

As if they would wash away my ferment, I was encouraged by the lightness of these watercolors, and I would try to close my wounds by preventing them from opening any further.

As I kept going, numerous little scabs remained on my hands.

I saw a light in the hand that was stretched before me.

Even if my wounds don’t heal, there must be something I can do.

For the first time in a year and a half,

I held these nostalgic paints in my hand

to return to the beginning and confront my fears by painting.

Shiori Horie