It's a Living Unveils New Calligraphic Paintings for Upcoming Tokyo Exhibition
As part of a solo presentation entitled “Nothing Is Without Meaning.”
Following his series of paintings to commemorate the spring season in Japan last year, Ricardo Gonzalez, better known by his artist alias, It’s a Living, returns with a new solo exhibition at Tokyo’s HPGRP gallery. Entitled “Nothing Is Without Meaning,” the presentation features a selection of bold paintings including tondos that depict new calligraphic forms and text.
Words such as “Perceive” and “Breather” are featured multiple times in the vivid works while rendered in inky and drippy stylization that recalls the artist’s prolific graffiti background. Atmospheric backdrops are also prevalent across the pieces that feature blurred out shapes in pared down tones to contrast the more illumines text graphics.
In regards to the exhibition title, the artist expressed: “Nothing we do in our everyday life is without meaning,” he said to HYPEBEAST. “Every gesture unknowingly has a purpose to communicate with others or ourselves. The simplicity of a small gesture can affect deeply the lives of others as well ours. The way we do everything defines us as human beings and our purpose in life. After all it’s a living.”
It’s a Living is known for merging calligraphy and elements found in graffiti culture. The artist continues to be inspired by scenes in Tokyo, which he captures with a disposable camera, to develop the concept behind his pieces. Check out select works in the slideshow above and then head to HPGRP gallery’s website for more details. “Nothing Is Without Meaning” will run from April 8 until May 15, 2020.
In other art stories, acclaimed French artist JR recently unveiled a massive wheat-pasted collage on the facade of the historic Palazzo Strozzi in Florence, Italy.
HPGRP
B1f, 5-7-17
Minami Aoyama, Minato-KU
Tokyo 107-0062
Japan
