Oil paint, silk thread, hemp cloth woven by S.S.’s grandmother
45.0 x 38.0 （厘米）
17.7 x 15.0 （吋）
Kei Takemura
Born in 1975 in Tokyo, Kei Takemura majored in Fine Art, Painting studies and received her MFA from Tokyo National University of Fine arts and Music in 2002. She participated in the Japanese Government Overseas Study Program for Artists provided by the Agency for Cultural Affairs from 2004 to 2007 and, received Senatsverwaltung für Wissenschaft, Forschung und Kultur Berlin in 2007.
Takemura has continued to present works that are comprised of overlapping a layer of embroidered cloth onto a photograph or drawing. Covering drawing and photos with embroidered thin cloth, Takemura narrates the story of her personal life, the lives of her close friends and, with memories, reconstructs what has been lost or forgotten. With glue and stitched of thread that shine white on the diaphanous cloth wrappings, she produces a series of “renovated” personal objects that had been damaged by wear and tear and creates a new aesthetic value. Takemura’s recent playing card motif works speak to shared meaning across different cultures. Twenty-four works of her “Playing Cards2017, Austrian Cards on German Cards” series feature German cards in the foreground overlaid with Austrian card designs embroidered on fabric with Japanese silk thread, to portray images of chance and the compatibility of diverse time and place.
Takemura has held solo exhibitions at the Pola Museum of Art, Kanagawa (2018); Taka Ishii Gallery (2004, 2007, 2012, 2016); Institute of Contemporary Art, Singapore (2012); Kuenstlerverein Malkasten, Dusseldorf (2009); Tokyo Wonder Site, Tokyo (2008.) She has also participated in many group exhibitions, including “Images from Memories / Memories from Images”, BankART Studio NYK, Yokohama (2014); “AURA”, Kunstverein Neukölln e.V., Berlin(2012); “Stitch by Stitch Faces I made with Needle and Thread”, Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum, Tokyo (2009); the 15th Biennale of Sydney (2006.)
