Last evening, AM stopped by the Bergamot Station complex to check out what looks to be the first US exhibition of Hideaki Kawashima at Richard Heller Gallery. As referenced by the title of the show, Turning, this wonderful collection of emotive paintings from the Tokyo-based artist represents an exploration of a new direction that we first saw at Art Basel Miami last year.

Labelled “developmental” modestly by Hideaki, these more realistic full body (or at least upper body) works are a departure from his previous more otherworldly floating heads. While his more familiar disembodied faces were to a certain extent self-portraits, representing his own feelings of disconnection with society and ghost-like feelings, these new pieces embody his exploration outward from his somewhat isolated existence. As he states after the recent earthquake in Japan – “I realize now that people are more interested in others and care about them.  That seems to be resonating with the changes in my mind, and makes me hopeful.”

More opening photos after the jump…

Hideaki and Mark Ryden


Discuss Hideaki Kawashima here.