Junko Oki

Venue: Kyu Itoya

Curator’s Text: Title: 《anthology》

Junko Oki uses rug-like fabric to embroider her images, the majority of which are simple rings and ovals from which many pieces of thread sprout and radiate. The fabrics are hung from the ceiling like laundry or on the wall, shaped in a square like a patchworked flag. Deviating from the flat and two-dimensional, Oki also makes three-dimensional works such as a large white block—resembling a slab of stone—with needles stuck into it, a cushion-like object stuffed into a basket, and an amorphous object reminiscent of a body part that is placed in a box. Pieces of thread and string are sewn on for every one of them, intricately swarming the objects, making them look as if they are woven textile. Some of the works seem to metaphorize the female genitals and, at the same time, have a wearied but distinguished aura like that of an antique object or vintage fabric. It could be said that their aesthetics leans into that of the wabi-sabi. Nevertheless, entwined in thread and string, this group of abstract and fetishistic works possess an inexplicable beauty, whereby the artist expands and pushes forward the act and notion of embroidery.

Artist Profile: Junko Oki
Junko Oki (b. 1963, Urawa, Japan) is based in Kamakura, Japan. Oki carefully hand-stitches imageries as if to engrave traces of life into the fabric. Without any prior sketching, Oki directly stitches her motifs onto the fabric which, although technically simple, betray our understanding of embroidery and triggers a primal sensation for viewers.
Her works are a palimpsest of the passage of time and stories that the weathered fabrics and tools she uses have endured over the years, while also incorporating her own time spent in stitching the imagery. This amalgamation yields works that are laden with elements of new life and chance. With all that comes into being and the certain passing of time, the many temporal layers and the finding of different landscapes are at the crux of Oki’s practice.
Selected solo shows include, yoretsuremotsure (KOSAKU KANECHIKA, Tokyo, 2022), Oki Junko: The Exposed (Museum of Modern Art, Kamakura Annex, Kamakura, Japan, 2022), anthology (Hagi Uragami Museum, Yamaguchi, Japan, 2020), Truly Indispensable (Office Baroque, Brussels, 2019), sense and sweetness (KOSAKU KANECHIKA, Tokyo, 2018), Moon and Chrysalis (Shiseido Gallery, Tokyo, 2017), JUNKO OKI (Office Baroque, Brussels, 2017), gris gris (DEE’S HALL, Tokyo, 2016), Recycle (ARTS & SCIENCE, Aoyama, Tokyo, 2009). Group exhibitions include, Where We Now Stand: In Order to Map the Future (21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, Japan, 2019), and the 2018 Yamagata Biennale (Bunshokan, Yamagata, Japan, 2018). In 2014, Oki published her photobook, PUNK (Bungei Shunju), and won the 11th shiseido art egg award in 2017. Her work is in the collection of the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa.