Masaya Chiba's Sideward Exhibition at Shugo Arts Challenges Viewers with Contortionist Paintings
Masaya Chiba's exhibition, titled Sideward Exhibition, is being held at Shugo Arts in Tokyo from March 18 to April 8, 2023. The showcase includes ten pairs of canvases alongside two standalone paintings that invite active participation from the audience. The artworks are arranged on the floors, walls, and ceilings, encouraging viewers to contort their bodies. Each pair consists of an abstract canvas paired with a pastel yellow canvas featuring cutout holes that hold smaller doodle-adorned canvases and intricate black-and-white designs. Titles such as Covid Morning/Drawing with Bell Crickets/Ibuprofen in Los Angeles add to the mystery. The individual pieces, Green Room and Yellow Room, showcase Noh theatre masks with real masks attached, while QR codes link to videos that highlight the theatrical and playful disorientation.
Key facts
- Masaya Chiba's exhibition Sideward Exhibition ran from March 18 to April 8, 2023
- The show was held at Shugo Arts in Tokyo
- It included ten pairs of canvases and two individual paintings all from 2023
- Works were positioned on floors, walls, ceilings, and across surfaces, requiring viewers to contort
- Pairs featured one canvas with abstract contraptions and another with cutout holes holding smaller canvases
- Secondary canvases included doodles, intricate paintings, and attached objects like painkillers and Noh masks
- QR codes on some canvases linked to short videos with Japanese audio and robotic figures
- Titles such as Covid Morning/Drawing with Bell Crickets/Ibuprofen in Los Angeles added to the enigmatic feel
Entities
Artists
- Masaya Chiba
Institutions
- Shugo Arts
- Artreview
Locations
- Tokyo
- Japan
- Los Angeles
- United States