Tezukayama Gallery is proud to present an exhibition by our own represented artist Kohei Yamashita, along with Kanto-based multimedia artist Yusuke Suga.

Kohei Yamashita is based mainly in Kyoto and gains his own sense of memory, material and outdoor culture from the mountain. These senses allow him to consistently expresses a sense of distance, such as near and far-fields and presence. His way of expressing these invisible notions is mainly through collage-like techniques. Yusuke Suga is based mainly in Tokyo and is interested in two opposing worlds or notions. He thinks of the true contents of these opposite worlds and from that takes the overall contents. He comes and goes between digital and analog sculptural fields.

Both artists first had contact at a group exhibition in Kyoto in the summer of 2013. In search for the meaning of “chuukei”, or middle-ground, and because it is a common interest, both artists went hiking in the Northern Alps “Ushiro Tateyama” Mountain Range in the Autumn of 2014. This range consists of several mountains and is located between Toyama and Nagano Prefectures.

The actions and processes involved in the hike allowed Yamashita to once again understand the space between distant view and foreground as voluminous space. By this intense experience, Suga once again recognized “chuukei” as the sense which exists between touch and sight.

In order to find and recognize “chuukei” they went through trial and error. Due to this growth and discovery, their work was able to evolve. Also, rather than a conscious collaboration, the common experience of climbing allowed them to be able to share their unconscious state, which influenced the work.

“Glory” is an atmospheric optic phenomenon. Stand- ing in a space above the mist and clouds, on a ridge, the viewer’s shadow is cast out onto the clouds. A rainbow halo encircles this extended, magnified shadow, creating the “glory phenomenon”. This time, we chose “Glory” as the title of the exhibition. The “Glory” phenomenon exists in the middle-ground, between the viewer who sees, from a ridge, and the landscape spread out in front of the viewer, therefore expressing “chuukei”.