SAORI KANDA: SELF LOVE FOR WORLD PEACE
Friday, October 27, 2023, 8-9pm
TIMES SQUARE NASDAQ SCREEN PRESENTATION
Nasdaq MarketSite
(4 Times Square, Nasdaq, New York NY 10036 (43rd & Broadway))
Presented by Vision Art Media
Sponsored by Bulls Tokyo
Additional support provided by Okada Museum of Art and Hinata NFT
Saturday, October 28, 2023, 4-7pm
LIVE ART PERFORMANCE
4pm Reception
5pm Performance
The Nippon Gallery at The Nippon Club（145 W 57th St, New York NY 10019）
In cooperation with the Nippon Club
Sponsored by Bulls Tokyo
Additional support provided by Okada Museum of Art
Please RSVP to gallery@nipponclub.org (Seats are limited to 50 guests. Reserve yours now.)
Renowned “Odori-e” Artist Saori Kanda to Captivate New York City with a Fusion of Dance and Painting.
NEW YORK CITY, [October, 2023]—After captivating audiences in Japan with her unique fusion of dance and painting, Saori Kanda is set to enchant New York City. The artist, celebrated for her overwhelming power and beauty, will grace the Nippon Gallery at the Nippon Club, the heart of Japanese culture in the city. This remarkable project is curated by Kyoko Sato, known for her dedication to showcasing the forefront of Japanese art in the world’s art capital.
Kanda’s performance is a breathtaking display of artistry, where she dances and sings to contemporary music, remixing it herself, while simultaneously creating large, vibrant paintings with her bare hands and body covered in paint. It’s a mesmerizing blend of dance, song, and visual art, akin to a sacred ritual where her life is laid bare. Drawing inspiration from the action painting pioneered by Jackson Pollock, Kanda has spent two decades refining her unique expression that connects with sacred prayer, dance, and drawing.
Having faced the challenges of the Covid Pandemic, Kanda has emerged with a profound perspective on self-love. She asserts, “By deepening self-love, I nurture a wellspring of love within myself. Only by letting love overflow from within can we truly love others and create a cycle of love. Now is the time to tell people that self-love is connected to world peace.” A powerful idea that resonates with the global audience.
Curator Sato, a firm advocate of utilizing art to “make people happier” and “make the world a better place,” finds synergy with Kanda’s aspirations for global betterment, culminating in this expansive project. Positioned in New York, a melting pot of cultures, the headquarters of the United Nations, and a champion of human rights, it becomes a poignant platform to resonate with the call for world peace.
According to Kanda, true self-love involves recognizing and harmonizing the poles of “femininity (receptivity)” and “masculinity (action)” within every human being. These aspects, she believes, embody the sacredness, source of life, and origin of creativity. “Femininity” encompasses openness to the senses, innocence, sacred eroticism, the Goddess, and shamanism, while “Masculinity” embodies the power of action, embodiment, and the nobility of courage and determination.
Kanda’s live performances, featuring the drawing of dragons, symbolize the harmonization of joyful femininity and the strength of masculine energy. She asserts, “I believe that by harmonizing these two poles within yourself, you can live your life in your own way, and your life force will overflow.”
Don’t miss the chance to witness the convergence of power, beauty, and a profound message at Saori Kanda’s live performances in New York City. This is more than an art exhibition; it’s an immersive experience that transcends boundaries and speaks to the core of human existence.
The project is made possible by Bulls Tokyo.
Additional support is provided by Okada Museum of Art and Hinata NFT.
Born in Yamaguchi Prefecture, raised in Dubai, and based in Tokyo, she expresses her way of life through themes such as “the pleasure of the soul,” “sacred Eros,” and “self-love and sex.” Since 2020, she has worked as a self-love activist, using photography, dance, painting, music, video, poetry, talk shows, and various other methods to emphasize the role of sex as the source of life and death and underscore the importance of rediscovering self-love.
As a “dancing painter” utilizing the body as a medium of expression, she engages in performances at ceremonies and art festivals worldwide. Absorbing the energy from diverse encounters, she translates these experiences onto canvas, creating a ritual hymn to life. Praised for her unique art performance that engages all five senses, she has graced notable locations like the World Heritage Site of Nakagusuku Castle in Okinawa, Tenkawa Great Benzaiten Shrine in Nara, Kibitsuhiko Shrine in Okayama, and Toji Temple in Kyoto. Additionally, she has received invitations to showcase her art in various international locations, including Taiwan, Shanghai, Hong Kong, the USA, France, Switzerland, Kazakhstan, India, and beyond.
She has conducted art performances at the Tokyo National Museum and the Kyoto National Museum, along with a special exhibition and art performance at the Okaya Art and Archaeological Museum. Additionally, she has collaborated with renowned brands such as Canon, NISSAN, TOYOTA, AlfaRomeo, Cartier, CHAUMET, COMTESSE, TAITTINGER, VIVIENNE TAM, and many others. Her work extends to commercial appearances and brand productions.
Sato, a curator based in New York, collaborated with the Asahi Shimbun to bring to life the “Ancient Egyptian Queens and Goddesses: Treasures from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York” (2014, the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum and Kobe City Museum). She founded the Asian Programming at WhiteBox, a New York art space known for its cutting-edge exhibitions, and served as its director from 2018 to 2021. Notably she curated the historic exhibition “A Colossal Word: Japanese Artists and New York, 1950s-Present”(2018), presenting works of from masters such as Yayoi Kusama, Yoko Ono, Shigeko Kubota, Takashi Murakami to younger expats. In 2023, she launched an English art magazine, Japan Contemporaries.com, and holds the position of editor-in-chief.
※Thank you for the full house.
