Absorption and Explosion, an exhibition on media and contemporary art which features two of the most promising Japanese artists of our time, Nobumasa Ikemori (Nobu) and Eiki Mori. Listed by Art Basel 2014 as a concurrent exhibition, Absorption and Explosion will run from 13th to 31st May.

Eiki Mori is an artist who has hosted over 20 exhibitions in major cities including Tokyo, Osaka, London, Taipei, Dusseldorf, Vienna, and San Giovanni Valdarno of Italy. His masterpieces include the reputed “Tokyo Boy Alone” and “Intimacy”, which brings superb sensitivity and novel appreciation to male portraits, has earned him the Ihei Kimura Prize, Japan’s top award for photographic art. On this occasion, Eiki has chosen the title “Hong Kong Obscura” for this exhibition, in which he will specially produce a new series of photos purely about Hong Kong, capturing the city’s energy, including portraits of people, streets, life and soul.

Educated in Japan and Spain, Nobu is winner of the 7th Hiroshima Art Prize (Japan) who has long impressed the international art arena with his large-scale drawings and constructed figures. He is also a creative live performer into dance and street happenings that inject the breath of art into the pulse of the general public. Nobu has chosen the title “Shin” (“belief”) for this exhibition, which will show his latest black ink paintings depicting the vitality of the human figure, animals, spirits and nature, giving a dynamic interpretation of living and life.

A major highlight will fall on 17 May (Saturday) when Nobu conducts two live painting sessions entitled “Burn! Okonomix”, held at 11 am and 3 pm at Cattle Depot Artist Village. Inspired by “Okonomiyaki”, a traditional dish from his hometown Hiroshima, Nobu’s recipe will include authentic ingredients for okonomiyaki which he will artistically blend with black into onto a vast canvas plate. To use his own words, Nobu will “make people alive, smile with super taste new vitality painting”.

Exhibition Date
13 May – 31 May

Opening Ceremony
15 May 4:30pm

Live Painting Performance
17 May 11am & 3pm

Absorption and Explosion is organized by Zen Foto Gallery, Tokyo, Japan, in collaboration with Videotage, a Hong Kong-based non-profit organization dedicated to promoting video and media art.

About Zen Foto Gallery

Zen Foto Gallery was established in 2009 in Tokyo, to specialize in Asian photography with a particular emphasis on China. Our aims are: to show interesting exhibitions, to be experimental, to provide stimulating works that would otherwise be rarely seen and to introduce innovative young photographers. In all we hope to provide a forum for greater appreciation of contemporary and historical works of Asian photography.