soda is pleased to present “Is It from the Sun, or the Moon?”, a solo exhibition of new paintings by New York-based artist Hiroshi Tachibana.
Developed through Tachibana’s longstanding exploration of painting, these new works explore the possibilities of painting while at the same
time pointing back toward its very origins. What does it mean to look at a painting? We invite you to experience Tachibana’s paintings at soda.
The exhibition will also feature a new text by art critic Ryo Sawayama, written specifically for this exhibition. With references to stories
surrounding sacred images of Christ, the text considers the essential nature of Tachibana’s paintings.
We sincerely look forward to welcoming you to soda.
「Exploration once meant venturing beyond the edges of the map.
But now that most of the world has been mapped, where does the unknown lie?
Abstract painting, too, has expanded its territory through countless techniques and ideas. Many routes have already been traced, and we know the map.
Yet what I want from painting is to be surprised.For me, making a painting is not about searching for something entirely new. It is about letting go of
the map I already have and allowing myself to get lost in a place I thought I knew.I look at what happens, respond, and look again. Through this back
and forth, something unexpected begins to emerge.
It is a place I feel I should know, yet one that still has no name. Can we encounter painting again for the first time?」 Hiroshi Tachibana