Upcoming exhibition
Ayako Rokkaku | ロッカクアヤコ | 六角彩子
'Fumble in colors, tiny discoveries'
8 June - 25 August 2019
Museum Jan van der Togt, Amstelveen, The Netherlands
Museum Jan van der Togt is proud to present the exhibition ‘Fumble in colors, tiny
discoveries’ by the Japanese artist Ayako Rokkaku. In addition to installing new
paintings, Rokkaku will also provide a retrospective of the work she produced in recent
years. During the opening weekend, on 8 and 9 June, Rokkaku will work live on a new
painting. Visitors will be able to see Ayako paint and experience her unique way of
working up close. In July, Rokkaku will move her studio into the museum and give
children the chance to paint with her.
Painting technique
Rokkaku never attended art school but is completely self-taught, developing her own
unique painting technique. She applies acrylic paint directly to the canvas or cardboard
with her bare hands. Every painting starts like a walk without a specific destination. She
starts painting without a predefined idea, painting what comes naturally until a
composition slowly starts to emerge. A dreamy, colorful landscape, with tiny floating
flowers, animals and skulls. A recurring element in her work is the prominent presence
of young girls, which she paints in the manga style, with large eyes and long limbs.
Rokkaku considers these girls fun to paint and a way of expressing her personality in her
paintings.
The diminutive artist, who is just 1.56 m tall, regularly demonstrates her painting technique during live painting performances, working on canvases that can be up to 7 meters wide. "I love painting on something that is much bigger than I am. Moving to and fro between the corners of such a huge canvas makes me feel as if the colors are flowing through my body." In recent years, Rokkaku has experimented with various new techniques and materials, creating wool and cardboard installations, sculptures made from layered acrylate and hand-painted antique Louis Vuitton suitcases.
Ayako Rokkaku
Global citizen Ayako Rokkaku (b. Chiba, 1982) lives and works alternatingly in Berlin,
Porto, Tokyo and Amsterdam. She created her first paintings in 2002, applying acrylic
paint to cardboard with her bare hands. Her work soon caught the critics' eye. In 2003
and 2006, she won prizes at Geisai, an art fair for emerging artists in Tokyo, organised by
the world-famous artist Takashi Murakami (b. Tokyo, 1962).
Since her first solo show at Gallery Delaive in 2007, Rokkaku has been invited to exhibit
her work in several galleries and at art fairs in Asia, Europe and the United States. She
has had solo shows in Rotterdams Kunsthal and the Danubiana Meulensteen Art
Museum in Slovakia, which attracted thousands of visitors. Art connoisseurs consider
Rokkaku to be one of the most promising contemporary artists.
Opening
The exhibition will officially open on Saturday 8 June 2019, at 4 pm. Rokkaku will give a
live painting performance during the opening.
The exhibition was developed in collaboration with Gallery Delaive, Amsterdam.
Press releases
Ayako Rokkaku catalogue
new catalogue now online
Welcome
Gallery Delaive is one of the leading galleries for modern and contemporary
art in the Netherlands. One of the highlights of our collection is the large
stock of works by Sam Francis. By far the largest in Europe.
In stock
Sam Francis - Walasse Ting - Niki de Saint Phalle - Yves Klein - Kees van Dongen - Karel Appel - Corneille - Constant - Takashi Murakami - Ayako Rokkaku - Kees van Bohemen - Roy Lichtenstein - Yuina Wada - Yoshiaki Ishikawa - Andy Warhol - Jeff Koons
Gallery Delaive does not accept unsolicited submissions.
