Keito Sakai, a versatile model, artist, and musician, opened his installation "Retro Amour" at the Isetan Girl Gallery on the second floor of the main building of the Isetan Shinjuku department store on April 24th. The exhibition runs until May 23rd. The exhibition features newly commissioned paintings and wedding dresses designed by Sakai himself. "Since this is a solo exhibition on the fashion floor, I wanted to display mannequins alongside the paintings. Rather than simply selling T-shirts featuring the paintings, I wanted to design the clothing on display and make the space itself a work of art. I thought that a wedding dress would be the perfect complement to the painting, and that's how the theme of this exhibition, 'Retro Amour' (love), came to mind," Sakai says of the installation. Each wedding dress is made from layers of material from vintage American and European negligees, and each is unique. White and colored dresses are also available. The blue dress depicted in her new work, "Retro Amour" (see image 4), is actually being produced and is on display. Additionally, handwritten lyrics and poems written by Sakai when she was writing lyrics for her unit, COLTEMONIKHA, with musician Yasutaka Nakata, are also on display as an item expressing love. Maki Taguchi, curator of the Isetan Girl Gallery, including this event, explains her reasons for choosing Sakai: "I've always been interested in her illustrations and drawings. They have a narrative quality, a well-established worldview, and connect to all genres, including music. I felt she was an artist with a strong affinity for fashion." In November 2012, Sakai held her first solo exhibition, "neoteny girl," at Harajuku ROCKET. Sakai's scope as an artist continues to expand. She recently released the iPad/iPhone musical picture book app, "The Little Mermaid." From May 3rd, she will hold her solo exhibition "neoteny girl2" in Kyoto. New works drawn with the theme of "The faint, sad silence of those of us who have passed through girliness" will be on display and for sale, as well as original illustrations from the musical picture book "The Little Mermaid." During the exhibition, one-of-a-kind dresses and accessories inspired by the Little Mermaid brand "Made in COLKINIKHA" will also be on sale in limited quantities, and workshops and talk events are also planned.
[Event Information (Kyoto Solo Exhibition)]
"Neoteny Girl 2"　"The faint, sad silence of us who have passed through girly"
Dates: Friday, May 3rd (national holiday) to Sunday, May 12th
Venue: Prinz
Address: 5 Tanaka Takahara-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture
Opening hours: 11:30am to 11pm *Last day until 4pm
*For details on events during the exhibition, please see the related links