ORANGE GATE×JCAT
Home The place where the heart returns

SHOGEN (guest artist) / Fujian / Hiromi Kawano / You. / Takashi Hattori / takehikoc

2025.05.10 [Sat] - 07.31 [Thu]

table of contents

Project Concept

Highlights

Comment from JCAT Director

Artist introduction

ArtWorks

Project Concept

Title

"Home: A Place Where the Heart Returns" is a collaborative exhibition between ORANGE GATE and JCAT (Japanese Contemporary Artists Team), a New York-based organization with over 200 artists and a global reach, whose mission is to "make art a part of life and return people and the earth to their natural state."

Where are we going back to?

A crying child who says "I want to go home" is embraced by his parents and finds relief. An old woman keeps muttering "I want to go home" even though she is already at home. This shows that a material "home" is not necessarily a place to return to. So where exactly are they going to return to?

In this project, we will look at where the heart lies, rather than material things, through the works of five artists from "JCAT NY" who express their inner worlds, and guest artist SHOGEN.

takehikoc Departure Day

Highlights

Title

The first collaboration project, ORANGE GATE x JCAT.
The six participating artists are self-taught outsider artists who pursue unconventional art. Their pure, passionate, and desperate pursuit of their own expression has resulted in pure and beautiful works.

The constant heart-to-heart dialogue between JCAT's representative Arisa Itami and the artists supports the creative process of the artists.

HATTORI Shadows

Hiromi Kawano Fallen leaf crystals

You. Cell No.004

Fujian Guide to Love

What is JCAT?

JCAT is a New York-based team of artists who connect the world through art.

JCAT, short for Japanese Contemporary Artists Team, was formed in 2014 with the theme of "Art for Everyone" and the mission of achieving things together that Japanese artists could not achieve alone.

Our existence is similar to the story of "Swimmy" in the picture book, in which a group of small fish unite to transform into a big fish that can swim freely through the ocean.

For us, the ocean represents the global world. The power of one person may be small, but when we all come together, our power is infinite.

JCAT is based on the avant-garde New York Ouchi Gallery, which was run by art director ARISA for 10 years from 2008. JCAT aims to give meaning to the existence of art, changing the general idea that "art is something special" to "something necessary for everyone," and ultimately to change the art scene in Japan.

Currently, over 200 JCAT artists are taking steps towards revolutionizing the industry every day.

Comment from JCAT Director

Title

Itami Arisa (ARISA)

An art producer who has lived in New York for 27 years. When the September 11 attacks in 2001 turned New York into a ghost town, he witnessed how art revived the city. Since then, he has maintained his mission of "improving mental health around the world through art," and has supported artists from his New York base, always focusing on "state of mind," so that people all over the world can live richer and healthier lives through art.

Currently, the art agency he operates, JCAT NY, has over 200 contemporary artists on its roster.

Her books include "How to Become an Artist: What They Don't Teach You in School" (Sanctuary Publishing) and "You'll Amaze the World with Apples" (Asuka Shinsha).

About the ORANGE GATE x JCAT NY Collaboration Exhibition and SHOGEN

I can't help but think that in the near future, more and more people around the world will respect the "value of things that cannot be seen." Art is something created by humans, and our ancestors have used it to try to convey invisible emotions and feelings. For modern people who have been driven by material wealth based on someone else's standards, perhaps realizing something they have almost forgotten can help them return to their true selves. I believe that through art, we can find what we need.

With this in mind, ORANGE GATE and JCAT are holding a collaborative exhibition called "A Place Where the Heart Returns." This time, we have invited painter SHOGEN as a special guest, and we aim to provide a foothold for Japanese contemporary artists to engage in global activities. His work will hopefully remind people of the precious memories that Japanese people have almost forgotten.

4/13/25 ARISA Dubai

Guest artist SHOGEN

Paint artist.
He traveled alone to Tanzania in Africa, where he continued to paint while living with the villagers.
He continues to paint both in Japan and abroad with the theme of "an awkward yet comfortable world."

Silkscreen Kaji 21

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Artist introduction

Title

takehikoc

Takehikoc was born in the downtown area of Tokyo. When he was a child, he would often receive praise for his drawings, but he didn't particularly like drawing.

I majored in design in high school and became a graphic designer after graduating, but that wasn't what I wanted to be. I spent my twenties not knowing what I wanted to do, and then in my thirties, I encountered art and Japanese Buddhism, and was influenced by them, and decided to express myself through painting.

His works are characterized by a duality of colourful, bright and fun, and a detailed and strange atmosphere. Rather than creating as he pleases, he paints while agonising and struggling with his ideas, thoughts and colour usage. However, he believes that these painful emotions and sensations are integrated into his work and convey their feelings to those who see it.

He currently paints on his days off, but in the future he aims to create an environment where he can concentrate on painting. He hopes that many people around the world will see his work and experience his world.

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Takashi Hattori

Born in Tokyo in 1970. Lived in Jerusalem from April 2019 to June 2023. Lived in the Marshall Islands from June 2023.

Since 2017, he has been creating works using sand, and in Jerusalem in particular, he has created his works while praying for peace and stability in the region. As the saying goes, "we are born from the earth and to the earth we return," the land encompasses life and death. Using sand that is engraved with the historical memories of the land, he creates his works with the aim of imbuing his work with the inherent power and beauty of sand.

The "mazes" that often appear in these sand works allude to civilization. They represent man-made structures such as ruins, and also allude to the problems caused by humans themselves. Problems fade over time, but new problems arise. Furthermore, the horizontal stripes resemble strata of the earth or ancient documents carved into clay tablets, suggesting the accumulation of history and the whispering of drums. Through my works, I hope to convey this perspective to as many people as possible.

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You.

You. loves herself and people in general, so she creates works that embody the longings and comforts that lie deep within her heart.

The rich natural environment of Nara and her lonely childhood were the starting point of her creative endeavors. She was saved by a world of fantasy, and was drawn to free expression. After working in apparel, she began self-studying oil painting.

Starting with abstract painting, he gradually pursued honest expression of what he liked. Influenced by Van Gogh and William Morris, he created a world of art that exudes warmth and melancholy.

He is currently developing his "permeate art" series, which combines two-dimensional and three-dimensional art, and continues to create works that blend into the space. He has exhibited at venues such as Chakichian and Independent Tokyo, expanding the scope of his expression.

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Hiromi Kawano

Hiromi Kawano has found salvation through taking photographs and creating multiple exposure works.

It was in 2015 that he discovered the creative technique of multiple exposure. He became fascinated by the unexpected world that emerged when he overlapped photographs. What began as curiosity eventually became a way to protect and support his heart from anxiety and sadness. In the midst of major changes in his life, such as the passing of his parents and his own illness, he believed, "If I could take this photograph, if I could create this work, then tomorrow will be okay."

In January 2023, after watching footage of the Noto Peninsula earthquake, she created a pair of works in a state of indescribable anxiety. When she placed a powerful dahlia in the first piece and a white heron in the second, she felt that "everything will be okay for me, my family, and the world." She later realized that the dahlia she had unconsciously chosen represented her mother, and the white heron represented her father.

She will continue to take photographs and create artworks, which are like a prayer for daily peace. Her major exhibitions include FOCUS Art Fair Paris 2022 and Artexpo New York 2024.

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Fujian

The thoughts that go into the works that Fujian creates stimulate the hearts of those who view them, and through the works, they aim to create art that interacts with the viewer and becomes a source of vitality for living together.

His background lies in the fact that in his mid-30s he faced death due to an incurable autoimmune disease. Wanting to give courage to take a step forward and even a little peace of mind to those who were miraculously saved from the same anxieties and suffering, he began creating message-filled works that go beyond the concept of calligraphy.

His evolution never stops, fueled by encounters with people, collaborations with artists from other genres, and various other stimuli.

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