Kawaii

Kawaii – かわいい

Kawaii かわいい as the cute, small, round and irresistibly adorable is a concept that originates from Japan and thrives in the temperate environment of global consumerism.

During the 70’s and 80’s, Kawaii significantly contributed in the development of Japanese sub-culture, as expressed particularly in the video-game industry, Manga comics and Anime films. Since then, Kawaii’s overpowered cuteness has been widely applied in the industry and has therefore influenced the art market.

From Hello Kitty to Takashi Murakami’s overwhelming paintings, Kawaii lends a unique style and adds monetary value that transforms everyday objects into irresistible must-have products. Nowadays, it constitutes a massive pop phenomenon, which is being daily expressed through millions of users in the social media all around the world.

Inspired by the wider concept and aesthetics of Kawaii, 13 Greek and 13 Japanese artists present their new work at CAMP. Clear and vivid colours, houmor, naivety and self-sarcasm converse with the ingenuity of visual arts and produce a range of paintings, drawings, sculpture and video. This exhibition attempts to renegotiate the notion of “cuteness” and at the same time react to its crisis-striken and grave surroundings.

All exhibiting artists cling stubbornly on かわいい’s sweetness and cover a wide spectrum of fairytale, eroticism, fantasy, cynisism and mainstream.

Kawaii is curated by Michael Parlamas, Olympia Toptsidou, Tadashi Mitani and CHEAPART. [more] 

Participating Artists:

Satoshi Ago

Eleftheria Alexandri

Hyon Gyon

Masae Kariya

Katerina Katsioura

Nina Kotamanidou

Asako Masunouchi

Mayu

Tadashi Mitani

Jiro Murakami

Asako Otsuka

Michael Parlamas

Christos Ponis

Fotini Poulia

Kenichi Sawazaki

Eri Skyrgianni

Hideyuki Tanaka

Sawako Tanizawa

Lina Theodorou

Nozomi Tojinbara

Olympia Toptsidou

Maggy Touliatou

Maria Tsimpourla

Ayako Tsunekawa

Maria Vozali

Grigoria Vryttia