Fluidity: A solo exhibition by Yuya Negishi
Born in a small farming community in the mountains beyond Tokyo, Minneapolis-based artist Yuya Negishi’s artwork is a cultural amalgamation. Combining classical Japanese techniques of calligraphy and SUMI with Japanese pop culture images, his creations display tactile street art techniques while adhering to a whimsical philosophy of art and life. Through their lively movement and vivid hues, Negishi’s paintings embrace a capricious energy fueled by fluidity. Using recurring images, like koi fish who embody that fluidity, Negishi captures the ebb and flow of the natural world around him, letting the extant sensations of the present and the past merge. His paintings allow for a vibrant visual experience of an emotional connection to the animal kingdom, the spiritual realm and to landscape. Blending traditional Japanese roots with his free-spirited “go with flow” ethos, Negishi’s work explores the playfulness of art and examines his own fluid spirit through vibrant outbursts.
Yuya Negishi is hot on the heels of assisting to create one of the most buzzed about murals of recent years – the towering kaleidoscopic portrait of Bob Dylan in downtown Minneapolis. His wide range of community-driven projects – live paintings and murals work, including a recent interactive mural at the Walker Art Center – are testaments to his exceptional eye for detail in motion and experience working with these au courant art mediums. His solo show at Gamut Gallery will harness his own desire for fluidity as well as highlight the gallery’s own affinity to adapt. This winter, Negishi will be journeying home to Japan for on a interdermintent hiatus, marking this exhibit as the last chance to view his works in a gallery setting in Minneapolis during 2015.
The opening reception for Fluidity is the inaugural exhibition in Gamut Gallery’s new home in Elliot Park and doubles as the official grand opening. Festivities will include an impermanent outdoor mandala installation by Krista Beier and music by DJ CZU and DJ Seth, plus sake and refreshments sponsored by Fujiya, Origami and Pabst Blue Ribbon.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Yuya Negishi is a Japanese visual artist based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He was born in Showa Village, Gunma. Yuya draws artistic inspiration from the memories and sensations of growing up in the Japanese countryside, where he would roam “like a hidden Ninja” exploring the woods, temples and mountain tops of the breath-taking Gunma region. Since relocating to Minneapolis in 2010, Yuya has been a prolific member of the city’s artistic community, involving himself in a wide range of projects. He teaches Japanese artistic styles to students in grade school through college and participates in public art projects, murals, frequently exhibits work, and has a wide portfolio of commissioned work. He also does illustrations and often performs at live paintings events. His work combines his extensive background in the classical Japanese techniques of calligraphy and SUMI with Japanese pop culture images such as koi, dragons and Buddhas, and street-art techniques influenced by his years in urban America. www.yuyart.com
UPCOMING EVENTS
Yuya Negishi: Fluidity, Grand Opening of the New Gamut Gallery
Saturday, November 14th, 7-11pm
Fluidity Open Hours
Thursday, November 19th, 3-7pm
Friday, November 20th, 3-7pm
Saturday, November 21st, 1-7 pm
CoLab Art Night
Thursday, November 19th, 7-11pm