Duality in Harmony
25 Apr - 22 May 2025
Duality in Harmony brings together two contemporary Japanese artists — Aka Okumura and Tomoro Yamanaka — whose practices, while seemingly divergent in tone and technique, converge in a rich, shared exploration of life’s complexity. This exhibition examines how opposing forces—color and monochrome, vitality and melancholy, playfulness and introspection — can coexist not only in tension, but in deep, resonant harmony.
Aka Okumura’s works erupt with vibrant hues and surreal, emotive characters that dance against a stark black backdrop. Her compositions serve as meditations on the fragility of life and the looming presence of death, with the recurring image of a girl acting as a liminal figure between the two realms. Within this vivid world, Aka weaves themes of environmental loss and humanity’s connection to nature, channeling both innocence and urgency. Her playful aesthetic belies deeper undercurrents of ecological grief and spiritual reckoning, reminding viewers that joy and sorrow are often two sides of the same coin.
In contrast, Tomoro Yamanaka’s Urukami series unfolds in restrained monochrome, focusing on the poetic symbolism of black hair rendered through techniques drawn from traditional Japanese crafts. His works are quiet, contemplative, and deeply rooted in cultural memory — paying homage to Showa-era icons, regional folklore, and the impermanence central to Japanese aesthetics. Each brushstroke speaks to transformation, aging, and the quiet beauty of disappearance. Through delicate compositions, Yamanaka reflects on themes of isolation, identity, and the fear of erasure, elevating everyday figures into timeless muses of sorrow, strength, and spiritual presence.
Together, their works form a conversation that spans emotional and aesthetic registers. Aka’s characters burst forth with life, while Yamanaka’s figures retreat into meditative stillness. Yet beneath these differences lies a shared impulse to explore the intangible—spirituality, memory, mortality, and the passage of time. In juxtaposition, their styles do not clash, but rather complete each other — mirroring the dualities we all carry within ourselves.
Duality in Harmony invites viewers to reflect on the possibility that contrast does not always divide. Instead, it can offer a path toward deeper understanding — of ourselves, of others, and of the beauty that lies between extremes.
