Artist Aomi Kikuchi’s Stunning “Moments” Collection to Go on Display in Japan’s Wajun Gallery
Aomi Kikuchi’s newest collection of fine art, “Moments”, will debut in Higashiyama, Kyoto for a limited time, capturing key life moments in unique ways, including traditional kimono dying, sculpture, and more.
Higashiyama, Kyoto, Japan, September 16-24, 2019 – The Chion-in Wajun-Kaikan gallery will host the new “Moments” collection of fine art created by groundbreaking artist Aomi Kikuchi, best known for her use of natural pigments and techniques developed in yuzen-dyeing. The gallery is located in Kyoto’s Higashiyama neighborhood, a part of the famed Chion-in Temple.
Aomi, a graduate of the Pratt Institute, is no stranger to having her creations showcased in some of the world’s most prestigious galleries. Previously in 2019, her artwork, “Float” was displayed at Ning Gallery theme exhibition “The Illusion and Reality” in New York City, New York.
“Moments”, the collection displayed in Kyoto, features a range of new works from Aomi, including yuzen-dyed fabrics, sculptures, and more. Aomi admits to a fascination with silk dyeing. “I’ve been making yuzen-dyed kimonos and framed works of various dyeing techniques for a long time,” she explains. “I have an obsession with dyeing extremely thin and unreliable silk fabric, such as silk organza and silk gauze. To maintain the softness and ‘unreliability’ of these materials, I exhibit them with refrain from sewing and tightly stretching.”
Instead, Aomi layers the fabric to create a unique visual effect and to represent time. The first layer represents the present. Each successive layer represents another step into the past, while the viewer’s position represents the beginning of the future. That transitory essence imbues all of Aomi’s art, which features an innate understanding and acceptance of the impermanence and insubstantiality of the physical world, combined with how an understanding of that ephemeral nature can lead to peace and the ability to live a mindful life.