Shibui: Keiji Ito and Kazuhito Nagasawa in Dialogue in Milan

The exhibition "Shibui" brings together two generations of Japanese artists at Officine Saffi and Galleria Monopoli in Milan. Keiji Ito (Tokyo, 1935) creates sculptural works that reveal anthropomorphic qualities from raw materials, with themes of heads and masks evoking both Western and Eastern traditions. Kazuhito Nagasawa (Osaka, 1968) blends clay, iron, glass, and wood into abstract forms that carry symbolic functionality, reflecting a spirituality rooted in Japanese culture. The term "shibui" refers to an outer simplicity rich with deep meaning. Both artists express Zen-inspired values: Ito through his "animistic" Hito sculptures, and Nagasawa through his containers titled "The place where seeds have fallen," which act as mysterious menhir-like vessels holding seeds of future knowledge and cosmic continuity.