Utopia by Kazumi Yoshida is at the Loggiato San Bartolomeo in Palermo.
The exhibition, inaugurated on June 3rd, is curated by Paola Nicita.
Utopia brings, for the first time in Italy, a collection entirely dedicated to the Japanese master.
Kazumi Yoshida and Palermo
Kazumi Yoshida, Palermo had already visited it during Manifesta in 2018 and, following that trip, the designer expressed being struck by the Sicilian city, describing it as a dream, full of beauty, energy, and positivity.
The Loggiato di San Bartolomeo, the chosen venue for the exhibition, showcases a total of forty works – some of which were created specifically for this event – including paintings, drawings, and large tapestries.
UTOPIA
The exhibition takes its title from Utopia, the large canvas created by Kazumi Yoshida in New York and completed in Palermo, in collaboration with the students of the Academy of Fine Arts.
The work thus perfectly symbolizes the gift that Yoshida offers to Palermo: it is a true homage to the vitality and dream that the artist perceived while visiting the city.
The works fill the spaces of the Loggiato with life and colors featuring animals, nature, and the stars of the zodiac. These are particularly drawn on two large tapestries fixed to the ceiling created in collaboration with the Fondazione Antonio Ratti, one of the most prestigious textile companies in Italy, renowned for its creative collaborations with major artists worldwide.
The tribute to Palermo is also found in the representation, in Utopia, of one of the city’s symbolic places, namely Piazza della Vergogna.
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The artistic research
The artistic research of Yoshida arises from his vital impulse, from the exaltation of the privilege of belonging to the cosmos and the importance of protecting its beauty.
The Japanese artist creates his works and, at a later stage, translates them into fabric and wallpaper, or vice versa.
Kazumi Yoshida draws inspiration from art but also from nature and fashion, and his works reflect the influence of artists such as Jean Cocteau, Raoul Dufy, Fernand Léger, Marie Laurencin, Picasso, and Matisse.
Among his latest works is an all-white wooden sculpture created for the Cheryl Hazan Gallery in New York, and a porcelain lily of the valley for a charity event organized by the owner of Le Cabinet de Porcelain with artist Samuel Mazy.
