本展は、漆を用いた造形表現によって人間の内面と存在の深層を問い続けてきた青木千絵の作品を、これまでの創作の軌跡を辿りながら紹介するものです。岐阜で生まれ育ち、現在は金沢美術工芸大学にて教鞭を執りながら制作を続ける青木は、造形を丹念に練り上げ、そして一貫して漆という素材を用いて表現し続けてきました。身体と抽象形態が融合した独自の造形フォルムに、奥行きのある艶やかな漆の質感が重なり、人間の奥深くに潜む言葉にならない感覚や感情が浮かび上がります。

タイトルである「闇へ研ぐ」は、「制作の約8割は研ぎの作業である」と語った言葉から着想を得たものです。漆を一層塗る度に「研ぐ」という、地道で静かな反復作業は、作品をかたちづくる技術的な工程であると同時に、作家が自身の内面と深く向き合うための時間でもあります。闇に身を沈めながらも、その奥にある光を探るように制作を重ねていく、青木の創作に対する姿勢そのものです。

また、本展の準備にあたっては、同大学の芸術学専攻に所属する金島隆弘が企画監修に入り、その学生たちと協働しながら、青木を調査研究の対象としたプロジェクトとしてそのアーカイブに取り組みました。青木のスタジオ訪問やインタビュー、展示準備などを通して、作家の制作や思考の背景を丁寧に紐解いていく試みも、本展のもう一つの見どころです。

自身の造形を、幼少期の記憶が深く刻まれた岐阜という地で改めて提示することは、青木にとっても自らの作品と対峙し直す機会にもなりました。全国の美術館が所蔵する過去作に近作を加えた合計5点の造形からは、青木が漆と共に生きた表現そのものがみえてきます。

Grind Through the Dark｜The Forms and Lacquer of Chie Aoki

This exhibition, Grind Through the Dark｜The Forms and Lacquer of Chie Aoki, introduces the work of Chie Aoki, an artist who has long probed the depths of human existence and inner life through sculptural expression in lacquer. Born and raised in Gifu and now teaching while continuing her practice at Kanazawa College of Art, Aoki has patiently developed her forms and remained devoted to lacquer as her constant medium. The fusion of the human body and abstraction in her distinctive sculptural language, together with the profound luster and depth of lacquer, brings to the surface sensations and emotions that lie unspoken in the innermost layers of human experience.

The exhibition title, Grind Through the Dark, is inspired by Aoki’s remark that “around eighty percent of制作 is sanding.” Each time she applies a new coat of lacquer, it must be sanded—a quiet, repetitive, and meticulous act. This process is both a technical method of shaping the work and a period in which the artist turns inward and confronts herself. Immersing herself in darkness while searching for the light that lies beyond it, Aoki continues to create in a way that encapsulates her very approach to making.

In preparation for this exhibition, Takahiro Kaneshima, a faculty member in the Department of Art Theory at the same university, served as curatorial supervisor. Together with his students, he undertook an archival project that treated Aoki as a subject of research. Through studio visits, interviews, and direct involvement in the exhibition’s preparation, they carefully uncovered the background of Aoki’s production and thinking. This collaborative inquiry forms another notable aspect of the exhibition.

Re-presenting her work in Gifu, where the memories of her childhood are deeply rooted, has also given Aoki the opportunity to confront her practice anew. The five works on display—ranging from earlier pieces held in museum collections across Japan to more recent creations—allow viewers to witness the very trajectory of expression that Aoki has forged while living with lacquer.