Two this year I can remember, the first was the extra-ordinary compilation of works by William Kentridge, arguably one of the best shows of my minutae existence. And the second is some of the works on exhibition currently at the Lesley Kehoe Gallery at 101 Collins street.
I do have a weakness for some of the Japanese styles and this is the freshest works I have seen on our shores yet.
Shohei Otomo is the artist in question and I know of his fathers work in the ground breaking single cell animation masterpeice Akira. The sheer detail of these works and the level of completeness to the peices is extraordinary. For working with cheap pens this is a feat in itself. The show felt reflective in its mood and covered a range of subjects from Yakuza to Shunga and cyber punk styles as well as western toon styles - glimpses of the east west exchange clearly visable. The combination of these themes is I think what makes this exhibition interesting, the masked geishas and the reworkings of the classic Shunga as well as the commentary upon the permeating threats of nuclear catastrophe with the recent Fukushima reactor collapse. The ability to complete works that perhaps would be special using any subject considering the workings of penmanship combined with the humourous touch of Shohei make this something you might want to see if you are in town.
It's nice just to enter the building and see the architecture too, one of the powerhouse buildings of the Australian economy. Pretend you just walked out of Harrolds and the security shouldn't bother you.
