Yufuku Gallery at West Bund Art & Design 2019

“The finished form is done, dead. It is the formation that is life.” Paul Klee, Theorie de l’art moderne (1945) The seminal exhibition Simple Forms, held at both the Centre Pompidou-Metz and at the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo in 2015, was rooted in the fascination of humanity with forms both simple and full, focusing on the rich and beautiful tales told by the forms of the object. This pursuit of “simple forms”, which deeply resonates with the heralded Japanese aesthetic of the pursuit of beauty through simplicity, is further encapsulated by Marcel Duchamp exclaiming to Constantin Brancusi (upon their visit together to the Salon de la Locomotion Aerienne) that, “Painting is finished! Who can do better than that propeller? Tell me, can you do that?” Yufuku Gallery proudly presents at our debut at West Bund Art and Design in Shanghai this November the curated exhibition Simple Forms, a revisit of the presentation featured at the Centre Pompidou-Metz and the Mori Art Museum. Featured are contemporary artists whose works are renowned for their simple forms and landscapes that heighten and accentuate the beauty of their materials. With the legendary work of Sueharu Fukami in porcelain, Nobuyuki Tanaka in lacquer, Satoru Ozaki in metal, Joseph Walsh of Ireland in wood, Niyoko Ikuta in glass, and Takafumi Asakura, Masanori Maeda and Kentaro Sato in Nihonga Japanese painting, these artists give birth to intuitive and poetic experiments in beauty, thereby pushing the boundaries of their respective materials with innovative new techniques and leaps in imagination. With the visceral power of these purified, more than merely geometric forms, these artists transform space itself. New works will also be presented by Ken Mihara, Kanjiro Moriyama and Keizo Sugitani in ceramics, as well as Osamu Yokoyama in bamboo. Today, Yufuku's aesthetic is known as the Keisho-Ha (School of Form) Movement, and attempts to capture what has been long lost but not forgotten within today's art world – a much-anticipated Return to Innocence that is testament to what the future holds in store: that art that rises above and beyond must have integrity within execution and craftsmanship, coupled with the pursuit of beauty within material itself. This is the essence of art that we have respected and revered for centuries. Our artists do not cater to passing trends or fads. Instead, we pursue the fostering of art that can stand the tests of time, and will strike the heart of persons from any creed, culture and continent, and from any moment in time. The Keisho-Ha will emerge from the shadows like the morning sun. A new dawn rises. We truly look forward to seeing you in Shanghai this November. With best regards, Wahei Aoyama Owner Yufuku Gallery