Eiichi Shibata: Soap

May 01, 2014 - June 14, 2014

“Those works created from solitude and from pure and authentic creative impulses – where the worries of competition, acclaim and social promotion do not interfere – are because of these very facts, more precious than the productions of professionals. After a certain familiarity with these flourishing of an exalted feverishness, lived so fully and so intensely by their authors, we cannot avoid the feeling that in relation to these works, cultural art in its entirety appears to be the game of a futile society, a fallacious parade.”
– Jean Dubuffet, 1987.

Yoshii Gallery is pleased to present “Eiichi Shibata: Soap”. This will be his first U.S. solo presentation in New York with Yoshii Gallery.

The exhibition consists of eight recent works on canvas, a series of simple, yet complicated emotional responses to objects Shibata keeps close with; while he enjoys hearing the sound of striking two disks from the classic board game Othello and the sensation of breezy air by fanning his ear with a book, he simultaneously executes richly colored, liberally self-imposed penned drawings. Shibata’s works have an allusive and subtle relationship with ephemeral elements; his inspiration for the “Soap” series derives from his captivation with smooth, frothy textures of swirling soap bubbles.

Eiichi Shibata (b. 1970) is an outsider artist who lives and works in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. As one of the earliest members at Kobo Syu, a creative workshop for adults with developmental disabilities in Saitama Prefecture, Shibata’s work is notably mentioned in the New York Times article “Feeling Right at Home on the
Fringe: Outsider Art Fair Opens at 548 West 22nd Street,” (2013). He has recently presented solo exhibition at Yukiko Koide Presents, Tokyo. His recent group
exhibitions include “Super Pure“ at Yokohama Civic Art Gallery in Kanagawa; “Color Box of Magicians” at Museum of Alternative Art in Tochigi; “Kobo Shu” at Yokohama Portside Gallery in Kanagawa; “Saitama Muse Forum: Art and Naivity” at The Museum of Modern Art in Saitama and “Group Show of Contemporary Artists 2012: Kobo Shu – Expression to Live” at Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum in Tokyo.