Guohua's exhibition just opened

Cai Guohua's solo exhibition has just opened at Galerie Paris
in yokohama.
For the details please see this page.
Galerie Paris is located in the most beautiful and historic
area in Yokohama.
Guohua's art works are best fitted in this elegant atmosphere.
Also the sites of the now running Yokohama Triennale are
within walkable distance from the galerie.
Please come and enjoy Guohua's exhibition as well as have
a pleasant time in a beautiful autumn day of Yokohama.

Guohua's exhibition is upcoming

　　An exhibition piece　　
☜ Family,　oil painting

　　This piece also appears
　　on the front page of
　　"Gekkan Bijutsu"
　　December issue.
　









Cai Guohua's solo exhibition will be held soon in Yokohama.
Details:
　　
　　＊When　Nov.17 (Mon) 〜 Nov.29 (Sat) 2008
　　　　　　AM 11:00　〜　PM 6:00
　　　　　　Open at PM 1:00 on Nov.17
　　　　　　Close at PM 5:00 on Nov.29
　　　　　　Closed on Sunday
　　＊Where　Galerie Paris　（Nihon-Oodori, Yokohama）
　　　　　　℡ 045-664-3917

　　　
View Larger Map

You can see many oil paintings, drawings, and so on
which are exhibited for the first time at this occasion.
Please enjoy the exhibition as well as Yokohama in its
most beautiful season.

CHANGE

―I hear that a lot of people went wild with joy on the night of
　Obama victory in the US.
―Many people from coast to coast are posting videos of
　celebrations here and there to You Tube.
　 This video takes a midnight celebration in NYC.
　It seems as if it was a revolution.
―Yes. The Star-Spangled Banner sounds like
　a song for the revolution.
　The US people must have had a lot of frustration
　toward the politics past a few years.
　I envy the US people a little who can explode with joy
　at the result of the election.
　It will turn to a big pressure for Mr.Obama though.
―We Japanese also have a lot of frustration toward
　the politics now.
　Without practicing our vote at the general election,
　this frustration will never end.
　To recover the faith for the government,
　the general election is the first thing to do.

Ritto

By the traditional East Asian
calendars, today is the first
day of winter, called Ritto
in Japanese or Lidong
in Chinese.
Nandina fruits in my garden
have become red, which makes
me feel warm in winter season.
Nandina is one of the most popular plants in Japanese gardens because nandina's Japanese
name "Nanten" also means bad things(Nan) turn(ten) to good.
So the Japanese takes Nanten as a lucky tree.

Shoso-in Treasures

On a warm beautiful autumn day
I would like to visit Exhibition
of Shoso-in Treasures in Nara.
These treasures were brought to
Japan or made in Japan about
1300 years ago.
Every time I see these treasures
I feel the enormous energy of
the ancient Japanese to
absorb the far advanced
civilization of China and
the Western World at the time.
I imagine their effort and I feel as if I was encouraged by
the Japan of its younger days.
After looking at the exhibition I would like to go to
the Hokkedo which is located in the Todaiji Temple area.
In that hall sit several Buddha statures, and all of them are
highly worth looking at.
You can see the statues in the most tranquil atmosphere
of the hall.
If you like to see Buddha statures, I think Hokkedo is the first
place you should visit in Japan.

Millennium of Genji

―I found that the home of Google
　Japan is a bit strange today
☜
　because of the image on the logo.
　I clicked it and the page turned to
　the search result of "The Tale of Genji".
―This year is the 1000th anniversary of the "Genji"
　and many celebratory events are scheduled this autumn.
―I wonder if the tale reflects the real life 1000 years ago.
　Their clothes and their houses are so extravagant.
　I feel even in 1000 years future we could not live in
　so luxurious. It seems a kind of fantasy.
―What is the most tremendous is that every man and
　woman in the tale exchange their feeling of love
　in so delicate way that if you don't have the knowledge
　of nature, history or poem, you can never understand
　what they are really talking about.
―It is very difficult for such kind of people like us
　who easily condemn one's dear like "Damn, you bitch!".

WBC

-The recent hot issue who to be selected the coach of
the Japanese national team for the World Baseball Clasic
next year has been finally settled.
I think Yomiuri Giants' Hara is the best selection.
We cannot rely on Nagashima, Oh or Hoshino forever.
-I suppose Ichiro's mention on the selection has changed
the momentum and leaded to the consensus.
He is really a big man. He must become the leader of
Japanese baseball in future.
-Things are not so simple.
I don't think the Major League would readily let
Ichiro back to Japan.

Dozing

- I tend to doze off while sitting on a commuter train.
- Autumn is a good season to have a doze on a train.
You know a quite lot of passengers have a doze as well.
- I once fell into a doze while making a text on the cell phone.
Soon I awoke to find that the cell phone had been dropping off
onto the floor of the train. I was so embarrassed.
- It's not an embarrassment.
I once fell into such a deep sleep on a train to
start dribbling. In a few minutes I awoke but I pretend
to continue sleeping. Imagine how I was ashamed.
- You, such a fool!

Street Calligraphy

Last autumn I first visited Beijing, and there
I found an interesting performance on a sidewalk.
An old man having something like a broom in hand
were sweeping the road surface by that thing.
I wondered what he was doing. I came nearby and understood.
What he had was a big brush and a bucket full of water
was beside him.
He dipped the brush in water and wrote Kanji-characters
on the road.
The performance can be called street calligraphy.
The characters were so beautifully written that I missed
all of them should completely dry up in ten minutes or so.
I have found an image of street calligraphy on a blog site,
so please have a look.
After that I came across quite a lot of people who performed
street calligraphy as well on a sidewalk or in a park.
They all seemed very pleasant and around them gathered
many viewers that criticized the calligraphy by various view points.
It left me a deep impression that China is really a state
of calligraphy.

Book Week

From October 27th until November 9th marks the Book Week in Japan.
It has over 60 years' history, which began just after the end of
the World WarⅡto lead Japan to a peaceful, cultured nation.
I believe even today the importance of the Book Week is
as big as ever because those who think by themselves are
the foundation of a peaceful society.

Halloween Party

-I hear some groups of foreign youngsters in Halloween costumes
get on the commuter train on the Halloween evening and
have a noisy party in the train. Even some Japanese are included.
What a nuisance they are for the other passengers!
-Do they do the same in their own country?
I wonder if they consider the Japanese being generous
toward foreigners even if they don't keep the public morals.
-I also do not feel sympathy for some Japanese
who get so wild on Halloween as if the festival belonged to
their own.
Anyway, as an ordinary Japanese, I wish I would not encounter
such crazy guys on a peaceful weekend evening.

To Shuffle

-Recently, I like to shuffle tunes of my iPod and listen to them.
It's so nice. Sometimes I come across a tune being
completely out of my memory.
While I listen to that tune, I remember those old days
past with the tune or find a new charm within the old tune.
-It's OK to shuffle tunes of iPod.
But it's terrible to shuffle IOU.
-What do you mean by "shuffle IOU"?
-I'm talking about assets of subprime.
That assets have been shuffled into normal assets
and made up to be elaborately packaged debt securities.
The financial elites have boasted that the scheme was
the ultimate risk diversification.
But it has turned out to be the ultimate risk proliferation.
-The financial elites should have invented the scheme
while listening to the shuffled tunes.

Life of the Ant

-They say that Japan has enjoyed the longest economic expansion
cycle until recently, although we feel nothing real for the good economy.
-If you see the economy just by figures, it may be true.
Businesses in Japan suffered from the bursting of the bubble
economy in the '90s. They went crazy to increase their own
capital. Under such circumstances they have been only
interested in how to decrease their payroll.
Our wages has never rose and we have been afraid of layoffs.
Who spend money in such a situation?
-The elders and the pensioners have been also under
very severe situation.
The Japanese deposit interest rate has been near zero
for many years. They should cut their savings
for living expenses year by year.
In some terrible cases they were cheated by nasty traders
and lost all of their savings. It's more than just a pity.
-Thus the money which otherwise had been gotten by the ordinary
Japanese has turned to companies, financial firms and so on.
They have directly invested in overseas market or lent money
to investment funds, which have brought them a massive return.
-The money spilling out of our hands has been used
for parties of the grasshopper after all. Damn it!

Life of the Grasshopper

-They say that most Americans have done themselves well
until recently.
-Haven't they?
-We suppose the subprime loan is the same kind of housing
loan as we have in Japan. But it is completely different.
-Really?
-It is the same in that they put a mortgage on the house
and take out a loan.
In their case, they can use the loan for other purposes
than to get the house.
As the payment is proceeding and the loan have got
smaller than the mortgage, then they can take out
another loan for another purpose.
-It sounds like a kind of free loan, doesn't it?
-That's not the whole story.
As the housing prices in the US has been rising
for a long time, they can naturally put a larger mortgage
on a same house year by year.
That means that they can draw another loan year by year.
-They must not make payment for such a big loan.
-There is another secret to make the payment possible.
Under the subprime loan they can get rid of payment
of the principal for some years.
On that period they only consider whether they can
pay the interest for the loan.
If yes, then they take out the loan.
-That can't be! No way!

Jidai Festival

-The Jidai Festival is being held today in Kyoto.
-That festival is one of the three most famous festivals of Kyoto.
However, comparing with the other two, the festival does only gain
a lower reputation among people in Kyoto, because the history of
the festival is rather young and it was started by a leadership
of the government, not of the people.
Many people in Kyoto speak better of this evening's the Kurama
Fire Festival than the Jidai Festival.
-Anyway autumn is the good season to visit the Japanese old
capital, where you can see many colorful festivals.
-I think it is important for us to have festivals or annual events.
They will become good refreshments in our daily life.

On a Long Autumn Night

It is not hot. It is not cold.
We have a lot of time to read on a autumn night.
Why don't we pick up a book that have been piled up by side?

Sketch Tour

-Guohua is leaving for Paris on "sketch tour" today.
-Is that so? His solo exhibition has just been finished.
What a busy man he is! But what is the "sketch tour"?
-That's is a tour planned by a coordinating company "Travel Plan".
Those who like to draw or paint go on a trip and sketch
around together.
Guohua will be a teacher of the followers during the trip.
-It sounds interesting. But isn't it half sightseeing?
-No kidding! I have once participated in a "sketch tour".
It was so hard. During the daytime we walked around
to find a best spot to draw.
Then we must keep sketching so intensely,
otherwise we would be severely commented by the teacher
in the evening session.
-Wow! How serious!
But like-minded persons gathering together on a same trip,
it must be a good experience for the participants.
Moreover Paris is in the best season now.
I hope they can complete a lot of fine works after all.

Guohua's exhibition closed

final scene









Cai Guohua's solo exhibition held at Galerie Kanai
from Oct 8th was closed yesterday.
During the 11day session, more than 1800 visitors
came and saw the exhibition.
Both Mr.Cai and the gallery owner Mr.Kanai express
so much thanks for so many earnest visitors.

Information 1:
The Gekkanbijutsu magazine on sale tomorrow will report
an article, "Visiting Studio Cai".
Information 2:
Another Guohua's solo exhibition are scheduled in
November at Yokohama.
Details will be informed in this site.

Evening Shift

-I hope the Diet would be proceeded in the evening.
-Why?
-On some weekday holidays I happen to see live broadcasts
of the Diet. It is much more interesting than I expected.
-Really? I've never seen the live of the Diets.
-When we watch TV news, the Diet proceedings would appear
probably within a minutes.
However when watch the live broadcasts, you can tell
which Diet member is how serious toward the issue.
I feel they are making more serious debates than expected.
-I have assumed that the Diet proceedings are
half ceremonies.
-Oh no. I believe it's us, the working people, that should
watch the Diet proceedings.
It'll make us think how our money should be used.
-That's why the evening shift of the Diet is preferable.
The Diet members usually say they are with ordinary people,
and if that's true, why don't they realize the evening shift?

Matsutake (Pine Mushroom)

-This is the best season for Matsutake.
I really miss Matsutake!
-I bet you that we can never reach Japanese Matsutake.
It's too expensive and only few appear on the market.
-Digging sweet potatoes, picking Matsutake,
admiring the colorful autumn leaves,
the old-time Japanese enjoyed autumn season
with such relaxations.
Why has only Matsutake been disappeared?
-Matsutake grows only in Japanese Red Pine tree forest,
but recently the forest has been left uncared.
The pine trees are out of use now and
Matsutake cannot be cultivated.
-After all we leave our own land getting rough,
and on the other hand rely on the imports.
It's a kind of typical Japanese problem.

Deep Sky

Looking at the Autumn deep blue sky,
I feel a touch of melancholy.
However high I put up my hand,
still I cannot reach the depth of the sky.
Only my voice is drawn into the sky,
which will never reach the ear on the earth.

Uncle Sam

-I suppose the present credit crisis has some good effect
to the world.
-Nonsense! It's so bad!
-After 911 the US tends to make too much of themselves.
They have tried to get through by themselves and
would not have their ears open for a different idea
or response of the other countries.
-That's maybe true.
-The crisis this time is more or less the result
that the US has made their own way.
However it becomes clear that the US has not been able to
cope with the crisis alone, but to effectively handle the crisis
international cooperation is crucially important.
-I understand.
-I dare say that this is not the only problem for the US.
I hope this time crisis will become the trigger
for the world to realize that to solve the global problems
there is no other way than the international cooperation
after all.
　

What a relief!

The market is soaring today!

Double Role

-Looking at the "Double Role" now shown at Guohua's solo exhibition,
I recall the character "Bottom" in W.Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream".
- I know that good guy, simple, open minded and going straight type
of town weaver, who was transformed into a donkey.
-Owing to the power of magical juice called "love-in-idleness",
the Queen of Fairies fell into a crazy love with Bottom, the Donkey.
I think such a single-minded person is very fascinating.
-Yes, comparing with those who just speak ill of others
and do nothing by themselves, simple and honest people are
much more agreeable.

Tigers Fan

What an unexciting season this year has been!
Before the Beijing Olympics began, the Hanshin Tigers ran
away so fast that nobody doubted the team winning of
the championship.
It was too strong for me to keep exciting feeling
on every game.
However after the end of Olympics, the team began
to lose the games one after another
and finally Yomiuri Giants has win the championship.
Alas! Too fast to lose before my cheers have got ready!

J.Brahms

Music of Brahms is best fit in the sunshine of autumn afternoon.
I especially like the piano concerto No.2, mov.3.
The sound of cello is very warm.
The sound of piano invites me to recollect the past.
Listening to that music, I feel like I don't need
anything more than the music of Brahms.

the Peculiar

-Four Japanese scientists have got Nobel Prize in Physics and Chemistry this year.
I think all of them have something more or less peculiar natures.
-The Japanese media is highly praising them after the announcement of
the Nobel winners.
However, generally speaking, they seem to be such a type of person
who many people in Japan don't like.
-People in Japan tend to feel sympathy toward those who think and act
same as other persons.
-But this type of persons don't mind how the society thinks about them.
They just feel happy as long as they can do what they want.
-Being the peculiar doesn't seem to have any meaning for them.
But for the society it is crucially important that they have
peculiar persons within itself.
The society mostly can change by contribution of those peculiar
persons after all.
　

Sweet Olive

-I woke up by the fragrance of sweet olives this morning.
I'm feeling so good today because of the perfume.
-I hear that they call a sweet olive as a tree of "gui" in China.
And sweet olive flowers are called "gui hua".
Both gui hua jiu (liquor of gui hua) and gui hua cha (tea with gui hua)
smell very good.
I have read that the whole city of Guilin is filled with sweet smells
of gui hua in season.
-I feel it's a gift of Nature to encourage us to enjoy a blink of
very wonderful time between the long, harsh summer and
the cold, severe winter.

Guohua's exhibition open Today!

Cai Guohua's solo exhibitopn open today！
Last evening I visited the site and took a movie of the site
and some works with special courtesy of Galerie Kanai.
Within such a lot of fine works, I especially found
the 3 pieces a set of paintings are splendid.
One is a portrait of pregnant lady in the center
and in the both sides an old gentleman and an old lady
take their place.
They are all very gentle and make us think something about life.
Please look.

Cabinet savings

- I have a question.
- What?
- The prices are sharply dropping in stock markets,
　oil markets, everywhere.
- It's so frightening, isn't it?
- If they sell something, then they have cash in hand
　don't they? For what they are using the cash?
　Cash itself bears no yields.
　Just having cash is meaningless, isn't it?
- They fear if they invest money, it will
　never return to themselves in the present climate.
　The money may turn to the trash after all.
- So they are saving their cash in their
　cabinet, aren't they?

Guohua's exhibition open soon!

Cai Guohua's solo exhibition is starting from this Wednesday.

Details:

　＊When　8 Oct (Wed) ~ 18 Oct (sat)
　　　　　11:00 ~ 19:00
　　　　　every day open during the session

　＊Where　Galerie Kanai

　　 Naka-dori bld. 2-6-8 Kyobashi Chuo-Ku,
　　Tokyo
　　　81-3-5250-0860


click to enlarge

About 50 art works will be shown
including paintings of an old man's figure,
humorous faces, landscapes, still-lives
and nude drawings etc.
If you have a chance, please come and
enjoy them.

Visiting Guohua's studio

Yesterday I visited Guohua's studio located at Kyobashi, Tokyo.
I regret at that time he was just out of the studio,
but anyway please enjoy some paintings at work and
the atmosphere of the studio.







The left is Guohua's sketch book and his pen.

Banana diet

-Bananas have not come on the shelves recently.
Even if I can get a rare chance, it's too expensive.
-The grocer said a TV show has triggered a banana dieting boom lately.
Besides the shipment from the Philippines has been stopped
by a typhoon.
-Oh my boy! I have relied on bananas so much.
Prices of all daily foods like vegetables or milk products
are already up and higher these days.
-The wallet is getting thinner and thinner in this pleasant
autumn season, isn't it?

Pension

I can't trust any more the national pension system.
The pension authorities has done their job so poorly
for long that many of the personal records has been missed
or even altered.
What a naive guy I was to rely on the officials!

Pink ribbon

-October is the month of the pink ribbon.
-What's the pink ribbon?
-The pink ribbon is the symbol of breast cancer awareness.
This month is dedicated for that campaign.
-I have a coworker who has died of breast cancer.
She was still very young.
-I hear that one out of 20 Japanese woman dies of breast cancer.
It is the most common cause of death among Japanese women
in their 20s up to 50s.
-Is that so?
-In most cases the cancer is getting worse very fast
within a younger patient.
However early detection and rapid cure brings about a very high
cure rate.
They say it's most important to get regular check ups.
-I know.

Day to change clothes

-Today is the Japanese traditional day to change clothes, isn't it?
-It's getting cooler and cooler.
-I suppose it's good for us to have a day to confirm that season
has been turning around as usual.
It makes us feel some sense of being assured.
-I dare say how good it would be if the world of economy also had
the day to change clothes.
Like, everyone listen, from this day on the climate has changed
definitely. Why don't we change our mind and act differently?
-I hope anybody actually say so and remind us of the confidence.

Awful

It's awful.
Who knows what may happen next?
It isn't time to call the general election, is it?

Information

Cai Guohua's solo exhibition is coming up soon.


　＊When　08/10(Wed)〜18/10(Sat)

　＊Where　Galerie Kanai, Kyobashi, Tokyo

About 50 art works will be shown
including paintings of an old man's figure,
humorous faces, landscapes, still-lives
and nude drawings etc.
If you have a chance, please come and
enjoy them.




☜click the images

H&M

-H&M Japan has just started it's business.
Have you already gone shopping there.
-Of course!
-Just a few days ago I went.
It was crazy that such a lot of people still waiting
in line to enter the shop.
The line was even a block long.
-And did you join in the line?
-No kidding! I was satisfied just to window-shop.
-You have no guts!

Drank

Finally I've got to the weekend.
Yesterday I drank too much,
because I've had such a pressure toward
the term end.
And yet business is getting worse and worse.
Wise men, please tell me what should I do.