"Journey of an Angel" - Holding my first solo exhibition🖼️.
"When I looked up, there was always an angel there."
I posted an announcement in March, and now that I've decided on a catchphrase, the flyers and postcards for my first solo exhibition next year are complete. Having worked on posters, advertisements, flyers, postcards, and other graphic materials since my days as a Shiseido designer, I never imagined I would be designing a flyer or postcard for myself. I also handled the copywriting and photography myself. Since this is my profession, I enjoyed the design process.
The title is "Journey of an Angel👼 - Norio Nakamura Watercolor Exhibition."
Shiseido creators have all been involved in some form of art🎨 production, and I applied that sensibility to my practical work. For this exhibition, I have selected about 40 watercolor paintings that I have been working on over the past four years. It started four years ago, during the COVID-19 pandemic when going out was difficult, and I was in the process of rebuilding my 🏡 home. While thinking about the concept, design, and planning, I gradually developed a desire to create a home that would suit the paintings I draw. For the paintings, I drew sketches and memories from the countries I have visited for work and leisure over the years.
During the 🏡 construction phase, I even reinforced the walls behind where the paintings would hang. I showed each of my paintings to the craftsmen and conveyed my wish to create a home that would suit them. Now, I even change the paintings according to the season.
Enjoying the preparations
The exhibition was decided a year ago after passing the screening, and while I thought there was still plenty of time, only a little over two months remain until the opening. With the encouragement from everyone asking, "Aren't you going to have a solo exhibition?", I have spent the last two years feeling like this day would eventually come. I have also visited various people's solo exhibitions for reference. I have participated in joint exhibitions with a watercolor sketching group, but while it is reassuring to be with everyone, I feel a bit anxious being on my own.
I frame each finished piece🖼️, sometimes changing to larger frames to suit the exhibition space, and I decide on the mat trimming for each one. I always work with Mr. N, who is in charge at my regular art supply store. It was fun to look at the paintings together, talk, and decide while looking at color samples and paper samples📚. It felt like fitting a child for a costume. I have managed to gather almost all the pieces for the exhibition, but there is one large piece🎨 I want to finish that I have been working on for the past year. Since I was a creator in the advertising department at Shiseido, I was involved in events like new product launches every season, so I was able to think about the general scenario, promotional articles, and preliminary research.
Purely hoping that as many people as possible will see them...
This time, it is a public art museum, so I cannot sell anything inside the venue, but I truly just hope that as many people as possible will see them. Furthermore, in the autumn, I will finally be able to hold a solo exhibition in Ginza. It will be at "Gekko-so," a long-established art supply store gallery near my former company. Working in Ginza, I was in an environment where there were art galleries everywhere I walked, but I felt that for someone just wandering in without the intention to buy, there was a high barrier to entry. In my case, I want to make it an exhibition where people can drop in casually. Well, there are two and a half months left. I'm nervous, but my paintings🖼️, it's time for your debut, so let's do our best together.
Once again,
"I hope that through my work, you will have a small, heart-enriching moment. I look forward to seeing you there♪"
