心に光を 夜空に月を (illuminating the soul, the nighttime sky)
Renowned for her artistry with brush and ink, Shoko Kanazawa is one of Japan’s most acclaimed contemporary calligraphers. And her down syndrome has never kept her from shining brightly. The artist is currently staging a solo exhibition at the Mori Art Center Gallery in Roppongi Hills, a venue that represents Kanazawa’s largest solo exhibition to-date.
Shoko Kanazawa’s solo exhibition is titled Moonlight (tsukiakari) and opened today at the Mori Art Center Gallery. Divided into 3 parts, the show traces the footsteps of the artist through roughly fifty old and new works. One of them is a 15-meter (50 ft) long masterpiece that represents that artist’s largest work she’s ever created.
The video below shows the piece being created, which reads 心に光を 夜空に月を. This roughly translates to illuminating the soul, the nighttime sky. Kanazawa has said that when she grows up she wants to be the moon because it is always in the sky, gently illuminating someone.
Born with Down Syndrome, Kanazawa’s talent was discovered at age five, when her mother Yasuko, herself a calligraphy student and later teacher, started teaching her at home. Nurturing her daughter’s talent with encouragement and training, by the time Kanazawa was a young adult she had progressed to exhibiting in temples in Kyoto
Below is a preview of the current exhibition, which is on display through January 8, 2022. General admission is 2,100 yen.
December 22, 2021 at 10:07 pm
The title name of this exhibition should be “Tsuki no Hikari”.