Japanese Artist Kumiko Mametsuka takes Best award at ART EXPO NEW YORK
ART EXPO NEW YORK, where the latest and most innovative art from all over the world is exhibited every year, was held from October 28-31 at Pier 36, 299 South Street in Manhattan, New York. (New York Keizai Shimbun)
This exhibition has been held in Manhattan, the center of art and culture, for over 40 years. And since it started in 1978, it has become the world's largest of its kind with buyers, gallerists, art directors and those in architecture among its attendees every year.
And this year as well, the Expo hosted more than 400 galleries, publishers, artists and photographers from New York and around the world, showcasing over 10000 works. Joining the exhibition from Japan was Hexagon artist® Kumiko Mametsuka. Ms. Mametsuka, whose eye-catching booth was designed using hexagons, numbers and mirrors to relay the concept of infinity, won the BEST INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITOR Award, recognizing her works, including her hexagonal Third Eye sunglasses that give focus to the pineal gland of the brain, and the technique she uses to incorporate a virtual image through the reflection of a mirror into her work. She was awarded for being the best exhibitor at the 2021 Expo.
Ms. Mametsuka, after receiving the award, said, “Ever since I was a child, I have dreamed of becoming an artist. This award gives me confidence that I have not made a mistake in what I am doing. I want to share my joy with my partner, my family and everyone who has supported me and use it as motivation for my production of art. I hope to continue creating works that surprise people and make the world a more peaceful place.”
STATEMENT
Greetings and salutations. I am Hexagon artist® KUMIKO MAMETSUKA, born and raised in Japan.
My family runs a fruit shop. I grew up surrounded by fresh fruits and their glowing colors.
So, it was natural for me to choose primary colors to paint with. I also observed how certain colors of baskets made the fruits they held in them look more attractive and how different fruits were arranged in placement. It was fascinating to see how seemingly clashing colors actually complimented one another and came together in the end. I believe my childhood experience in this environment was the origin of my artistic career.
It was in early 2019, a period in which I shed tears, conflicted with anguish about my artistic expression, that I heard a voice in my head, from which I received a revelation.
“Draw numbers”, it said.
Numbers are even now an indispensable part of our lives, the symbols closest to us. Used for birthdays, time, latitude and longitude, science and technology, numbers hold an important role. It goes without saying that the invention of numbers, with these symbols as tools, laid the foundation for logical thinking, and developed a scientific civilization, necessary to the creation of a beautiful society for humankind.
From the revelation that came to my mind and the events of that time, I interpreted the meaning of “number” in the words of that revelation to mean “numbers and geometry”, and it was from that moment that my expression of art through drawing numbers in hexagons was established. In these numbers and geometry, I feel power, magnetism and guidance beyond human intelligence.
I am strongly drawn to hexagons which are the underlying shapes of all things and I am convinced of this for the following reasons:
Hexagons abound in nature. They are found, for instance, in the DNA and RNA bases, snow crystals, water molecules, the compound eyes of a dragonfly, and granules on the Sun’s photosphere caused by Rayleigh-Bénard convection currents. And in recent years, the vortex at Saturn's north pole has been observed to be in hexagon shape.
A honeycomb is the quintessential natural hexagonal formation. It is flexible and strong, and also absorbs sounds and shocks. Because of these qualities, the honeycomb is an ideal structure to adopt for the materials used in house walls, aircraft wings and walls, as well as for the artificial satellites floating in outer space. It is from that shape that I have drawn an even deeper inspiration.
Hexagons, of course, and other polygons, geometric patterns and sacred geometry – At present, I have been incorporating these into my art in various works, both physical and virtual, while following the messages given to me from these meaningful shapes.
Hexagon artist®
KUMIKO MAMETSUKA
Profile
KUMIKO MAMETSUKA（ b.1984, Fukuoka, JAPAN）
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- 2023The 26th Exhibition of the Taro Okamoto Award for Contemporary Art（ Taro Okamoto Memorial Museum, Kanagawa, Japan ） : Nominated
- 2021Art expo New York 2021 SOLO booth（ New York Piar 36 ）： BEST INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITOR
- 2021Minerva 2021（ Mall Galleries , London ）： 2021 Honorary member of the British King Artists Association
- 2021Contemporary Japanese Artist Exhibition（ Nishiyama Museum, Tokyo ）
- 2021Artwork dedication to Ise Jingu（ the Ise GrandShrine）Naiku, in Ise City, Mie, JAPAN
- 2020Art japonais et Léonard da Vinci 2020（ France Amboise Château du Clos Lucé ）
- 2020World Peace ART Exhibition 2020（ Kyoto to Vilnius ）
- 2020ART DLEND（ Lausanne, Switzerland ）： Jury Special Award
- 2019Etihad Modern Art Gallery（ Abu Dhabi ）
- 2019Freestyle Flashback Boat Ride, LIVE PAINTING（ New York Piar 83 ）
- 2019Art expo New York 2019（ New York Piar 90 ）
- 2018Tokyo Tower Arts Festival Ⅲ（ Tokyo Tower, Tokyo, JAPAN ）
- 2015France-Japan Multinational Contemporeary Art Exhibition（ The National Art Center, Tokyo, JAPAN ）
- 1993Pilot Hirao District Misconduct Prevention Poster Exhibition（ Fukuoka Prefectural Central Police Station ）： Grand Prize
- 1993The Exhibition of the 1st Children’s Poster Contest（ Junior Chamber International Fukuoka ）： Grand Prize