One day a six year old convinced his mother that they must enter the contemporary art gallery Hiromart Gallery in Tokyo, located amongst Japanese gardens and frequently visited by an International crowd thanks to the neighboring hotels. After having spent a good two and a half hour indulging critically in the art works, the young man decided which painting he loved the most. The mother tried to convince her son that the smallest (and therefore the cheapest) painting was his favorite, but he was not impressed by the colors in the small painting. Gallery owner Hiromi was watching with great surprise when the six year old signed the contract and declared the painting sold.
The art world in Tokyo is small but full of surprises and steadily growing thanks to commercial gallery owners like Hiromi, who has a great passion for private and affordable art. The Japanese are learning to appreciate the free admission, the possibility to invest in a work of art and to experience International art in real life. The current exhibition ‘Golden Altitudes’ by Canadian artist Robin Fry based in Berlin, is accompanied by a sound installation created by the artist specifically for the show. The music brings the audience to a sonic environment described as ‘a fictional vacation planet with a Jamaican theme’. Since the Tokyo crowd is still not used to the free admission and find it embarrassing to enter a gallery without purchasing a work, the sound installation might assist in tickling the curiosity of the visitors to the point where they forget to be embarrassed. This is the first time Hiromi is exhibiting painting and sound installation by the same artist. “The visitors find the sound installation very interesting and it gives them a deeper experience of Robin’s work, which is unique and very beautiful. There are plants and flowers, but of a kind you have never seen before. I play the sound installation throughout the exhibition and I am not shy with the volume.”
The Canadian painter Robin Fry created a series of small-scaled paintings and drawings for ‘Golden Altitudes’, a title which came to subconsciously inspire the artist to use a lot of golden glitter. “I was thinking about the Golden Triangle when I chose the title of the exhibition, it just felt right. Altitude is related to height and triangles and even though I can’t explain why, it felt like a good and positive title to work against. I paint very intuitively and I suddenly realized half way through that I was using a lot of golden glitter, without literarily referencing to the title. I might have been inspired subconsciously.”
To exhibit in Tokyo is a great opportunity for the interdisciplinary artist to reach a wider audience, but although Robin would have loved to be at the show, other commitments forced him to stay put in front of the eisel in Berlin. Golden Altitudes is on until the 16th of September and has received a positive response from both visitors and Japanese media.
Robin Fry – Merlin’s Den, Now exhibited at Hiromart Gallery
Robin Fry – Cardboard Hideaway, Now exhibited at Hiromart Gallery
Robin Fry – Green Glass, Now exhibited at Hiromart Gallery
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