YUKIKOMIZUTANI is pleased to present ‘GRAM FORCE’, a joint exhibition from two contemporary art calligraphers Lintalow Hashiguchi and Hisashi Yamamoto, running from Friday 14 July to Saturday 12 August. This exhibition will explore new forms of ‘calligraphy’ through the works of two ‘calligraphers’ engaged in the field of contemporary art.

Born in Nagasaki, Japan in 1985, Lintalow Hashiguchi has been producing work from his hometown in Kyushu since his twenties. Inspired by various post-war avant-garde art movements, Lintalow Hashiguchi’s work leaves an intense impression never to be forgotten. With his dynamic use of a towel rather than a brush to paint, the rebellious spirit of Punk, something greatly admired by the artist himself, punctures through his way of working. Through the works developed in this exhibition, Hashiguchi expands the fragmented words he notes in his everyday, breathing new life into them through calligraphy. 

Hisashi Yamamoto was born in Hiroshima, Japan in 1969. At age 19 he first encountered the work of calligrapher Yuichi Inoue, an experience that led him to earnestly pursue the art himself. Yamamoto creates works focusing on the naming power calligraphy possesses, stating “by writing a name onto an unrecognisable shape, the shape in turn will become that thing”. Through his founding of ‘ART SHODO’ (a contemporary art calligraphy artist collective) in 2017 and through other activities, he explores the various forms in which the potential of calligraphy can be expressed.  

The unit of mass known as the ‘gram’ derives from the word meaning ‘a small weight.’ In the exhibition “GRAM FORCE,” both artists, each with their own aesthetics, delicately place lines on paper. These ‘grams’ are elevated to the realm of ‘calligraphy,’ appearing before the viewers with tremendous force.

We kindly invite you to experience the multitude of new expressions of “calligraphy” by these two contemporary calligraphers who embrace the present.

Lintalow Hashiguchi Hisashi Yamamoto GRAM FORCE Talk Event

Date: Saturday 15 July 13:00 – 14:00
Venue: YUKIKOMIZUTANI　TERRADA ART COMPLEX II 1F 1-32-8 Higashi-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo

YUKIKOMIZUTANI will be hosting a talk event called “GRAM FORCE Talk” on July 15th (Saturday), featuring artists Lintalow Hashiguchi and Hisashi Yamamoto, in conjunction with their joint exhibition “GRAM FORCE”.

Those wishing to participate in the project are kindly asked to register from the ‘Registration From’ link below, and arrive at our gallery on the above date and time.
* Participation will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. Registration will be closed when we reach capacity. Registration Form is only available in Japanese. For any inquiries, contact us at office@yukikomizutani.com or (+81) 03-5548-5858
Registration Form

ハシグチリンタロウ　Lintalow Hashiguchi (1985 – ）

書家　WLIGHTER (a coined term by Hashiguchi, meaning “the one who writes and illuminates”).

Lintalow Hashiguchi was born in Nagasaki Prefecture, 1985. In 2004, he entered Fukuoka University of Education, majoring in calligraphy. During his teenage years, he encountered Punk, which became the cornerstone of his creative pursuits. He captures the fleeting happenings in daily life by jotting down fragmented words in his notebook. For his artistic process, he uses a towel instead of expensive brushes and swiftly creates his works while listening to punk rock. While studying traditional calligraphy, he was inspired by various post-war avant-garde art movements, particularly by Yuichi Inoue’s words, “calligraphy is art for everyone.” This inspiration led him to explore calligraphy as a source of energy for living everyday life. He captures the fleeting happenings in daily life by jotting down fragmented words in his notebook. For his artistic process, he uses a towel instead of fine brushes and swiftly creates his works while listening to punk rock. In 2015, he participated as a member at the “Tensakukai”, a group exhibition paying homage to Yuichi Inoue. In 2018, he joined “ART SHODO TOKYO” and gained attention. In 2019, he participated in the Art Fair Tokyo 2019 and won the Grand Prize at the “LUMINE meets ART AWARD 2018-2019.” He was also selected for the Shell Art Award 2019. In 2020, he was selected for Artists’ Fair Kyoto 2020.

山本尚志　Hisashi Yamamoto (1969 – )

書家　Caligrapher

Born 1969, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. Lives and works in Hiroshima. During his early childhood, he attended a calligraphy school. He was forced to write a single horizontal stroke hundreds of times, to switch from being left-handed to right-handed. Upon reaching high school, he realized that the characters he was learning at the calligraphy school were merely imitations of one person’s handwriting, so he decided to withdraw from the school. In 1988, shortly after entering the calligraphy department of Tokyo Gakugei University, he came into contact with the works of Yuichi Inoue and decided to give up classical calligraphy. He was determined to write in his own unique real handwriting, and at the age of 20 he made the ‘Calligrapher’s Declaration of Hisashi Yamamoto’ in his room, and has called himself a calligrapher ever since. After working on the Yuichi Inoue catalogue raisonne at Unac Tokyo, he was resolved to break away from Yuichi Inoue. He then returned to Hiroshima to work at a tutoring center. However, the company went bankrupt a year and a half later, and in 1995 he opened his own tutoring school. The center was used as a studio and spent the next ten years devoted to caligraphy. In 2004, he was approached by Masaomi Unagami to from the ‘Tensakukai’ group in honor of Yuichi Inoue, and was offered to exhibit his work.