Mari Ito
Japan
About Mari Ito
In her work, Mari Ito explores the theme of desire. She has, in fact, always been drawn to the Freudian theory of the human psyche and the three entities cohabiting our psyche: the Id, the Ego and the Superego.
Of these three, the artist reflects on the first “the Id, the most pure and primitive” as the source of our desires and their consequences.
As, unlike in Western culture, Japanese society frowns upon the outward expression of certain opinions and emotions, particularly in public spaces, this heightens the interest of the pieces, serving as they do to help transmit certain thoughts and feelings.
In doing so, the artist attempts to alleviate this need for direct communication in the form of words, revealed to be truly complex in Japanese society.
Our task is to focus our attention on the essence of the pieces, key to accessing the emotions Mari Ito experiences. These are expressed metaphorically by means of rhythmic, floral compositions with vibrant colours and the traditional, uniquely Japanese painting conventions referred to as nihonga.
These conventions involve highly specific techniques, from the setting up of the stand with a wooden stick and kadoidewashi and oguniwashi (types of Japanese paper) to the making of the pigments (composed of precious stones, minerals or shells, normally ground in Japan) and the use of Chinese paint and Japanese tools for application, such as the fude (Japanese brush).
It is thus that the paintings offer us a contemporary take on the famous screens of the Kan School (15-19th centuries) and the Rinpa School (17-19th centuries), and the refined compositions of Jakuch It (1716-1800).
In parallel are also references to classic Japanese patterns used in kimono designs and other items and the floral art of ikebana, present in the harmony of the works.
The weight of contemporary Japanese artists is also in evidence, such as Yayoi Kusama and her obsessive art and Takashi Murakami and the Superflat movement. The influence of the European avant-garde and Western artists can also be felt, with Hieronymus Bosch to have profoundly influenced Ito, for example.
Mari Ito has lived in Barcelona since 2006, when she first made her mark on the international contemporary art scene, participating in both solo and group exhibitions, first in her country of origin and later in the Catalan capital and the rest of the Iberian Peninsula, as well as in Basel, Istanbul and New York.
She has participated in art fairs in Paris, Hong Kong, Singapore and Miami and has also collaborated with brands such as Lilien Berg (2016), Bershka (2017), Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB) in Barcelona’s Universitat metro station (2017) and Mitsukoshi Nihonbashi (2018).
Artworks by Mari Ito
Education and exhibitions
• SOLO EXHIBITIONS
• 2019: A flor del piel, Villa del Arte Galleries, Barcelona El jardín de los deseos del Japón contemporáneo, Torreón de Fortea, Zaragoza
• MARI ITO Barcelona 2009-2019, Hakudohtei Gallery, Tokyo
• 2018: Itomarism Kaleidoscope, Jankossen Contemporary Art Gallery, New York. Itomarism, Mitsukoshi Nihonbashi Art Square, Tokyo.
• 2017: Itomarismo, Nap Galley 3331 Arts Chiyoda, Tokyo. Itomarisme, Artèria, Igualada.
• 2016: Mari Ito, Zeit Foto Salon, Tokyo.
• 2014: Invisible, Nap Gallery 3331 Arts Chiyoda, Tokyo. The garden of desire, Zeit Foto Salon, Tokyo.
• 2013: El origen del deseo, Tatiana Kourochkina Galeria d´Art, Barcelona.
• 2012: Id "El origen del deseo" nacimiento, La Cerverina d´Art, Cervera. Id "El origen del deseo" nacimiento, Galería Esther Montoriol, Barcelona. The origin of desire - the emergence, Nap Gallery 3331 Arts, Chiyoda, Tokyo. The origin of a desire, Zeit Foto Salon, Tokyo.
• 2011: Id - De l'origen del desig, Vinart, Igualada.
• 2009: Id - en movimiento hacia el círculo, Kannon Gyo & Wa Gallery, Barcelona. Id - El origen del deseo, Sala d'art Hostalet 1701 Hotel, Girona. Id - el origen de los deseos, Kannon Gyo & Wa Gallery, Barcelona.
• 2008: Mari Ito, Zenbu Gallery, Barcelona.
• GROUP EXHIBITIONS
• 2020: Villa del Arte Galleries, Barcelona. Villa del Arte Galleries, Amsterdam.
• 2019: Villa del Arte Galleries, Barcelona. Villa del Arte Galleries, Amsterdam.
• 2018: DelicArTessen17, Galería Esther Montoriol, Barcelona. The 7th Higashiyama Kaii Memorial Nikkei Nihonga Award, Ueno Royal Museum, Tokyo.
• 2017: DelicArTessen16, Galería Esther Montoriol, Barcelona.
• 2016: DelicArTessen15, Galería Esther Montoriol, Barcelona.
• 2015: UTOPIA, Jankossen Contemporary Art Gallery, New York. Inter [canvi], Arteria, Barcelona. DelicARTessen14, Galeria Esther Montoriol, Barcelona. Dessins, Zeit Foto Salon, Tokyo. Sensibilitat Toquio, La Cerverina d´Art, Cervera. Flors, Galería Esther Montoriol, Barcelona.
• 2014: DelicArTessen13, Galería Esther Montoriol, Barcelona. Ulls D' Argos!, La Cerverina d´Art, Cervera. Painting by four, Zeit Foto Salon, Tokyo. Covered Tokyo: Hikarie, Shibuya Hicarie, Tokyo.
• 2013: Green Flower Street, Tatiana Kourochkina Art Gallery, Istanbul. The Origin of Desire Mari Ito and Mami Yamanaka, Jankossen Contemporary Art Gallery, Basel.
• 2012: Zeit Foto Collection, Zeit Foto Salon, Tokyo.
• 2011: DelicARTessen10, Galería Esther Montoriol, Barcelona. The fruits of Adventures, Zeit Foto Salon, Tokyo. Art in Adventure, Zeit Foto Salon, Tokyo. DelicARTessen9, Galería Esther Montoriol, Barcelona.
• 2009: Via art 09, Shinwa Art Museum, Tokyo. Asian Young Artists 4 The world that drips, Keumsan Gallery, Tokyo. El japó de Jordi Serra, Masia Museu Serra, Barcelona.
• 2007: Christmas collection, Zenbu Gallery, Barcelona. Japanese Artists, Zenbu Gallery, Barcelona.
• ART FAIRS
• 2019: Art Bodensee, Villa de Arte Galleries, Barcelona, Austria.
• 2018: Art Paris, Jankossen Contemporary Art Gallery, Paris.
• 2015: Aosando Art Fair, Omotesando Hills Tokyo, Tokyo.
• 2014: AHAF Hong Kong 2014, Zeit Foto Salon, Hong Kong. Art Stage Singapore 2014, Villa del Arte Barcelona, Singapore.
• 2013: Scope Miami 2013, Villa de Arte Galleries, Barcelona, Miami. Contemporary Istanbul, Tatiana Kourochkina Art Gallery, Istanbul. Art Toronto 2013, Villa del Arte Galleries, Barcelona, Toronto. Affordable Art Fair New York, Villa del Arte Barcelona, New York. Scope Basel 2013, Jankossen Contemporary Art Gallery, Basel.
• 2012: Contemporary Istanbul, Tatiana Kourochkina Art Gallery, Istanbul. ArtNagoya 2012 Contemporary Art Fair, The Westin Nagoya Castle, Nagoya.
• 2010: AHAF2010HK, Asia Top Gallery Hotel Art Fair. Gran Hyatt Hotel, Hong Kong.
• COLLABORATIONS
• 2018: Yukata collaboration x Mari Ito, Mitsukoshi Nihonbashi, Tokyo.
• 2017: Limited Edition Mari Ito patches, Bershka, todos los países. Nacimiento de origen del deseo ¿Es primavera? (pintura mural), TMB Estación de Metro Universidad, Barcelona.
• 2016: Lilien Berg box, Lilien Berg, Kanagawa.