Susumu Kamijo Presents "I'll Tell You Later" at Stems Gallery
Showcasing his loveable poodle muse in a slightly sinister twist.
Oftentimes, even the most loveable animals have slightly odd features when magnified up close. Though artistic in nature, Susumu Kamijo showcases this thought spot on in his new solo exhibition at Brussels’ Stems Gallery.
“I’ll Tell You Later” continues on the Japanese artist’s penchant for illustrating his poodles, but done so this time with a less joyous and slightly sinister twist. As the artist has slowly transitioned from figuration to abstraction, Kamijo has, as editor Danny Kopel wrote, “unearthed more compelling forces underneath the happy facade of his earlier works on paper.”
Noting the switch, Kamijo said in a statement, “Drawing is different than painting in that you are spreading a gooey substance on a bumpy surface. I was used [to] applying a certain amount of pressure with my pastel pencils to make marks. This is not how it works with a soft, impotent brush. I couldn’t transfer the look or feeling of the drawing to the canvas.”
Instead, faces are simplified into shapes on a largely blank background that allows each constituent part to jump off the canvas. Similar to the gooey stretched faces of his new poodle paintings, Kamijo worked with Case Studyo on three sculptural masks that allow the user to tap into his anthropomorphized worlds. “I’ll Tell You Later” is on view at Stems Gallery until April 23, 2022. Meanwhile, stay up to date on all Case Studyo’s upcoming editions on their website.
Elsewhere in art, Doug Aitken Enters Virtual Reality in “Open.”
Stems Gallery
Rue du Prince Albert 4,
1050 Ixelles, Belgium
