A specific smell, image, sound, or taste that brings to mind a beautiful memory with tenderness triggers Natsukashii.
For the group exhibition Natsukashii, Mazel Gallery invited Sato Gallery to join with some of its finest Japanese artists . Natsukashii is a Japanese word for which there is no direct French equivalent. The closest word might be "nostalgia," but this word refers to a melancholic longing to return to a past time, whereas the Japanese word evokes the pleasure of reminiscing about happy moments.
About fifteen artists, both native and Western, are invited to coexist in our exhibition space. It will be interesting to observe the creative and cultural exchanges as well as the points of convergence and differences.
Japan seems very distant in the eyes of Westerners, yet it is omnipresent in our culture to the point of becoming an integral part of it. Judo, manga, cartoons, sushi, origami, matcha, and many other things are part of our daily lives and fill our memories. More specialized concepts like umami (the fifth taste) and kawaii (cute) have even become relatively common terms in Europe.
Beyond this range of cultural references, Natsukashii also refers to the happy memories of childhood. Some artists have taken this opportunity to create works that recall this period of their lives, such as Mayumi Nakao with "Birthday Party" or Laurina Paperina with a drawing compiling all the heroes of Japanese cartoons.
Other artists Sato Gallery brings to Brussels are Takeru Amano, EXCALIBUR, Daijiro Hama, Samy San, Fantasista Utamaro, Nigamushi and Shun Okada
This is an exhibition that celebrates Japanese culture in all its aspects, through the eyes of those who embody it and those who observe it.
