Ando Yumi, one of the first members of the art collective Parplume, journals her daily life through painting, drawing, engraved prints, manga and animation. This exhibition features more than 20 new paintings, engraved prints and more on the theme of creators.
Asako Hoshikawa, Saki Wakimoto, and Yoichi Umetsu eating Meals at Andhra Kitchen in Okachimachi
2024
Oil on canvas
24.5 x 34.0 cm
Yoichi Umetsu making a ceramic work at Marumasu pottery factory
2024
Oil on canvas
23.0 x 27.8 cm
Cafe & Gallery Toen
2024
Watercolor, acrylic on paper
32.7 x 41.9 cm
So Imaizumi and Yoichi Umetsu at work on a press at Kawara Printmaking Laboratory, Inc.
2024
Etching
12.3 x 18.0 cm
Ando Yumi
Born in Tokyo in 1994. Artist and principal member of the artist collective Parplume. Mainly draws and keeps records of the workplaces and lives of creators through manga and animation, painting, copperplate engraved prints and other media. Has created the serial manga Zen-ei no Toka for the art-related portal website Bijutsu Techo.
I have been depicting people who are close to me, with a reliance on their own appeal.
I’m also influenced in the way I draw and paint by the artists I’ve met.
As I often think of what it means to be original, I reflect on how those who express themselves might be betting their lives on a scavenger hunt.
Naturally, the experiences that we gain differ based on the communities to which we belong.
I have been involved with the Parplume art collective for ten years. I feel that while Parplume is a sort of testing ground for artists who serve to influence each other, it is also the model for a kind of nation. For instance, some of its members have lived with the collective for a long time, whereas others are like travelers who reside for a while and then move on.
On the other hand, there were times when I visited different places, where I continued in my quest to depict “those who create.”
I’m particularly interested in workplaces that exhibit a sense of focus and tension.
Ando Yumi