LOKO GALLERY will present painter CHIE KODA’s exhibition from May 27th through June 26th. This is KODA’s first exhibition at LOKO GALLERY since 2018, where she will present paintings created after experiencing maternity and during her parenthood during the pandemic.

At the 2018 exhibition, KODA depicted images using subjects of what may have been earned through her walk around Shibuya station, like squirming energies of humans between buildings or the nightscapes reflecting city life. Upon presenting “One Window and Eleven Paintings”, KODA observed from her room’s window how her family laundry swayed in the wind, drew ten sketches from it, and finished the eleventh piece as a painting.

No matter what, regardless of any circumstance, the artist keeps facing the scenes emerging in her life. Viewers are invited to find the essence lying in each scenery, as KODA fully exposes the process of her introspective journey prompted from continuous conflicts, trials and errors. We welcome viewers to capture the glory of KODA’s latest works that could be seen only at this very moment.

Chie Koda “One Window and Eleven Paintings”
for a long time, the act of painting, and the certainty to exist at a place has been matching all along
whenever I visit a new place, what I wanted to draw at that moment is already there
through many connections, I have brought myself to many places, and every time
to draw and to live has locked each other as a single wheel and brought me to the next

in 2019 I experienced my first childbirth – the house became where I belonged for the time being
reflecting the days, I keenly realized my one and only body and soul
while the baby was always growing up, sound and pure
before I knew it, I was struggling with tons of habits my body and soul had gained

for a while I didn’t have the idea to paint, but as I sat on the sofa, and held the baby everyday
I was not even seeing but just gazing at the laundry hanging at the balcony
the laundry, which increased than before, is swaying in the May wind with the carp pennants bought for the baby
it was just a moment, and a continuous scenery of everyday
and a prove that time was moving forward

as I absentmindedly gazed outside of the window in a vague condition
I realized I was encountering the sceneries with a completely new sense
not like before, when I was painting, staring what is in front of me with a different sense of sight

in the fluttering of the laundries, changing by moments, I steadily perceived
“what is always there”, immutable, something different from my past experiences
this feeling became a painting called “The Windowside of May”

two years passed since, and this time, I decided to draw the laundries in my balcony again

during these past two years, I have gone outside to draw, nevertheless
my life with my child parallel to my artistic activities and the worldwide circumstance
accelerated my stay at home
my everyday scenery was the window and the laundries behind, as ever

everything is constantly moving, nothing is not
in the laundries there are new children’s wear and fabric masks but still
the carp pennants sway again in May and “what is always there” is within the swaying laundries

like the experience looking into the caleidoscope
this scenery is what I keep staring at without being able to judge what I am seeing

and as I was painting this work, I realized I was not alone
myself in the past, myself now, and myself ahead of now
is looking at the same scenery, standing side by side and talking to each other
everything is thoroughly neighboring each other through what is seen in front of me

the finished painting is presented with this kind of reality
in my own way, I am willing to receive the left message from the colors
and paint to express it to the people in the past, now, and ahead of now

Translation: ayae takise

ARTIST PROFILE: Chie Koda