江上越个展“一期一会”现场 白石画廊香港-4 ⒸEtsu Egami

Ichi-go ichi-e or Once in a Lifetime

Whitestone Gallery， Hong Kong

Whitestone gallery Hong Kong announced that curate Etsu Egami first solo show in Hong Kong。 The curator is Barbara Pollack， professor at the School of Visual Arts in New York City and she loves Etsu Egami art work， that wrote the texts for solo show。

“I like cherry blossoms that bloom for a short period of time。 I cherish the faces of people passing by。 Although there are more misunderstandings and dislocations， they are （after all） an opportunity and a beginning to understand life and exchange information，” Etsu Egami。

Ichi-go ichi-e， the title of this wonderful collection of paintings by Etsu Egami， loosely translates （from Japanese to English） from a spiritual dictum to accept the transience of life to the more colloquial “Once in a Lifetime。” In Japanese， this phrase is as deep as Zen Buddhism， elevating appreciation of the fleeting moment to the ideal approach to life。 In English， Once in A Lifetime is the theme of a rock band’s anthem， as singer David Byrne of Talking Heads repeatedly asks， “Is this not my beautiful house？ Is this not my beautiful wife？ How did I get here？” The difference between the tone of each language is a perfect example of the mistranslation， miscommunication and misunderstanding that this artist has been exploring since school， or perhaps throughout her life。

Etsu Egami is a leading representative of the third generation of postwar Japanese contemporary artists。 Born in a suburb of Tokyo in 1994， Egami spent many of her childhood years in the United States and Europe， which partially explains her natural inclination to explore mis-translation。 She is currently pursuing her Phd at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing， where she completed her BFA （2016） and MFA （2019）， spending a year in between at the Karlsruhe University of Arts and Design。 Her choice of professors also illuminates her outlook on art， now working with Liu Xiaodong， the leading narrative painter in China today and in Germany， with Omar Fast， a conceptual filmmaker whose works challenge the notion of linear story-telling and the belief in the artist’s capability to tell the truth。 Combined， these mentors have taught Etsu Egami well； she now has mastered painting and portraiture as a kind of ephemeral truth and developed an approach to painting that deconstructs and rearranges the traditional depictions of faces in art history。