Misa
Namekawa

https://www.namekawamisa.com/aboutThe Beginning:My father: Hidekazu Namekawa was a painter; teaching high school in orderto feed me and my mother. I am an only child. The smell of petrol filled thehouse, and the color of his fingers changed by smoking and oil paint. He livedand painted Perugia, Italy between 1982 to 1986, after his retiring teaching job.I visited him in 1985 and traveled around west Europe especially Italy, andUSSR. I saw many museums and learned more about Western Art. My Fatheroften told me that it was important not only technique but also the concept in apiece; what do you feel, what do you think, what do you want to express. I wasinterested in human beings and their socialization. I studied sociology and gotBA from Osaka University, Human Science in 1982. I also learned drawing inthe Osaka Municipal Institute of Fine Art for four years.In New York: (1985-2004) My works, including copper printings and softsculpture, became bigger in size. One day, Mr. Masahisa Hirota, a copperprinting artist, told me; You may be good at making more dynamic works. Iwas thinking about that, too. At that period, I encountered the strong works byMagdalena Abakanowicz. I appreciated her works through my skin rather thaneyes. This experience became a trigger to make installation works. I decidedto live abroad to get new stimulations and made the next challenge. I movedonto New York in 1995.Body Parts Series: (1996-2015) In the first apartment in Harem, I caught aheavy cold. My body was just like a sandbag. After the cold was cured itself, Ihad a terrible backache. I didn't have money to buy a bed and slept directly onthe hard floorboards with an only blanket. Manhattan is filled with artifacts, likethe brick apartments, tall buildings, and road covered with asphalt. Even theCentral Park is ‘artificial nature.' In a small apartment room, I was drawing myright palm. Suddenly, an idea hit upon me, which was my body was the closestnature. I sometimes feel we are controlled by our body although we think wedominate it. The concept of nature was made by human beings. misaname@iris.eonet.ne.jpNature creates nature. The natural world as it exists without human beings orcivilization. It seems a contradiction that those who defined the words rely ontheir existence to their physical bodies. The boundary line of the word "nature"should be moved as time passes by. Because everyone has "a body" Ithought it was possible to use an artistic representation of body-parts aslanguage: understandable all over the world. I tried to catabolize the world byenlarging body parts or assembling a lot of them.Fragile Art: (1999-2002) I also made an art project "Fragile Art". Living in thisinternational city, New York, I saw realty against the idea of the Statue ofLiberty. Using symbolic destruction and reconstruction of this world icon, Ienvision a transformation of our current values to make room for a new viewof freedom. The ideas attached to it will also be forgotten or transformed. Ourdescendants, who will have new concepts of freedom, will see the brokenStatue of liberty as we see Venus de Milo. For my project, I placedfive-inch-tall plaster versions of the Statue of Liberty at 42 places. Afterpedestrians kicked and stepped on them, I collected the broken pieces,assembled them back to their original form with leaving out the missing parts,and photographed them. After the tragedy of 9.11, I stopped placed the plasterstatues on street. However, I posted the broken statues' photos in the street,because I wanted to show to pedestrians in the town who made theappearances. In May 2002, a notice of explosion against the Statue of Libertywas on news. At last, I stopped all this project. Although I couldn't imagine thetragedy of the World Trade Center when I started my project in 1999, I wasthinking about the transformation of the world for the 21st century.Bizen: (2004-2008) I feel stuffy the last two years in New York. I missednature very much. I wanted to be in the non-artificial environment. I grew up inKobe where I can see mountains and sea even from the midtown. Myplayground used to be in mountains. I wanted to root in such a place. In 2004after coming back to Japan, I lived in Bizen, Okayama Prefecture, where hassea, rivers, fields, and mountains. This rich country has been very famous fortraditional pottery production place in Japan. I learned the technique of potterywork, including molding. I worked there for three years, but always asked bymyself "Are you sure to be a ceramist?" The answer was "No". I couldn'tobsess over pottery work. After all, I came back to Kobe and lived with motherafter father passed away. misaname@iris.eonet.ne.jpInstallations: (2010 2018) My first solo show of installation work was at the“Gallery Circus Circus” in 2010. The title was "Copy paradise, and the lightand shadow", which was consisted of 900 of porcelain fingers, 250 ofporcelain nipples, and 100 of plaster tows. All pieces were molded from theartist's body. I often arrange a lot of the same stuff, when I make installationworks. I need the number to represent society. I want to express the energy ofmath. I am devoted to making installation works that are influenced by place,light, wind, and rain. I see a place, feel the energy in it, know the history, andimage what I want to see there. The piece should interact with surroundingand convert the landscape differently. Recently, I feel like a passage by myself.Or, I am a conductor of an orchestra consisted of air, light and materials.Performance Art: I met an artist, Mr. Sadaharu Horio in Kobe. He used tobe a member of the "Gutai" and made his works freely like a child. He andartists around him have many times of group show in a year, and exchangestimulation each other. I sometimes join them and train my imagination. Theyalways perform in the shows. They tend to emphasize the action rather thanthe result works. Soon after I knew them, I began to do art performance, too.Workshop by Using Art: (2003-) Before my first show, I had a slump. Thedeadline was coming soon, but l didn't have enough pieces to exhibit.Suddenly, the memory of graffiti in my childhood appeared clearly. It was filledwith joy. The memory gave me the courage to break through the stagnation.As a warming up, I drew lines without thinking on a sketchbook. I inventedhealing workshop by using art creating process based on that experience.This is an action which we stop criticism by ourselves and think by hand, notby head. This is one of the ways to release depressed feeling and make aroom in mind. This is a worming up to build up life. I brought it to the "WellesWorkshop Camp” in the United Kingdom. After the workshop, a Germanwoman came over to me and said. "I was released from my depressionsomehow while I drew graffiti". Her boyfriend had passed away, just a fewmonths before. At the time of the "Hanshin Big Earthquake", I lived in Naraand my parents lived in Nagata, Kobe, which was the area suffered one of themost. Fortunately, they and their house were safety, so I flew to the USA onthe September following my former plan. But I had pangs of conscience not tohelp to rebuild my hometown. Another big earthquake had attacked in Tohokuarea again. Because I would like to support people who suffered through it, Ibrought my workshop to the eleven temporary housing places set up in the misaname@iris.eonet.ne.jpMiyagi Prefecture and received a Grant from Hyogo Arts & CultureAssociation for my workshop: those involved would meet me in the mainmeeting hall of each structure and then follow through with me a series ofcreative steps... drawing, listening, hearing - that I hope and believe fosteredhealing and hope during this time. I also went to Minami Soma in Fukushimaprefecture, where had serious incidents at the nuclear power plants.The Now:2019: I am looking forward to showing my works in Europe. I also have agroup show in Barcelona. I have enjoyed art projects with the village people inDenmark already three times. I will have my first solo show there in August.Art is deeply concerned with the quality of life and has the power to changelife: this is my belief. I got this idea when I was twelve years old from Goya'sworks.As an Eastern Artist, I continue to pursue my artistic expression.Curriculum VitaeEducation2004-2008 Studied pottery work in Bizen, Japan1995-2004 Lives, Works as Artist, New York, USA1983-1991 Studied copper printing under Shigeru Kimura1982, 1986 Studied lithograph & Japanese painting at the Musashino Instituteof Fine Art1981-1984 The Osaka Municipal Institute of Fine Art1981 Graduates BA of Human Science at the Osaka UniversitySolo Shows2018 Okura-to (Osaka, Japan)Space Sou (Osaka, Japan)Gallery Irohani (Sakai, Japan)Outdoor Show at the Art Space Kaoru (Kobe in Japan)Gallery Yusai (Nara, Japan)2017 Space 31 (Kobe, Japan)Okura-ato (Osaka, Jaoan)Outdoor Show at the Art Space Kaoru (Kobe in Japan)2016 Ami-Kanoko (Osaka, Japan)Street Gallery (Kobe, Japan)misaname@iris.eonet.ne.jpMyohoji temple Outdoor solo show (Sacai in Japan)Outdoor Show at the Art Space Kaoru (Kobe in Japan)2015 Gallery Maya (Takatsuki in Japan)Ami-Kanoko (Osaka, Japan)Gallery Ao (Kobe in Japan)Outdoor Show at Art Space Kaoru (Kobe in Japan)2014 Gallery Maya (Takatsuki in Japan)Bar Metamorphose (Nishinomiya in Japan)2013 Outdoor Shows at Art Space Kaoru (Kobe in Japan, in February, March,April, July)2012 Gallery Maya (Takatsuki in Japan)2011 Atelier 2001 (Kobe in Japan)2010 Gallery Circus Circus (Kobe in Japan)2002 Gallery Circus Circus (Kobe in Japan)"Fragile Art" streets' exhibition (New York in the USA, 22 places, btw April2nd to May 8th)2001 Williamsburg Art & Historical Center (New York in the U