Beniko Choji paints her works with great care, down to the last strand of her hair. She has had many solo exhibitions and won many awards, and many of you may have seen her work.
What is the secret behind the artist's charm?
Despite the density of the details expressed in her refined and trimmed lines, she says that space and blank space are important. We interviewed her about the themes she is trying to portray through her artwork.
What made you decide to become an artist?
When I was a university student, I had no intention of becoming an artist. I didn't really have a budding career as a student. I thought it would be nice to be an artist for a while, so I got a job at a jewelry custom-made company. However, I had been studying art since I was in high school, so it became difficult for me to take the time to draw pictures that I had taken for granted in high school and college. For the first time, I realized that I needed to spend time painting in order to keep my mind occupied. After that, I took it seriously and made up my mind to stand on my own as an artist.
Many of your works seem to use women as motifs, was there a reason why you chose women?
It is not that I am obsessed with "beauty paintings". What I want to express most in my paintings is the heart. It is people who have a complex heart, and I am a woman myself. As I am a woman, I felt it was natural to express the heart as a female figure. The soft presence, lines, and facial expressions of women are important to me. I feel that the soft presence, lines, and expressions of women that I value in this work are also connected to the fragility of the expression of the heart that I want to express.
(A Story, H 50cm x W 38cm x D 4cm, Painting)
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In the process of developing your style, what influences did you have in the past, and how did you complete your style?
Until I graduated from university in 2013, I had been making paintings that projected my heart and soul directly onto the canvas. In many cases, I feel that it was more like a strong and violent attack. It was a painting to purify my mind. After graduating from college, I got a job. I worked at a jewelry company, serving customers, repairing their jewelry, and suggesting designs for remodeling. I used to draw pictures for myself, but now I am thinking and drawing to make people feel happy to hold my jewelry. I became the one to offer something, such as designing and drawing. That's when I suddenly came back to myself and realized that painting has to be the same, and that's where I am now. From that point on, I began to be aware of the fact that there is always a viewer on the other side of my hand. From there, I arrived at the point of "nothingness" where everything was stripped away, and my current style was completed.
What themes do you focus on the most in your work?
The most important theme for me is "capturing the transition of time. I believe that the time between the first and the second, which is invisible to the eye, is very precious. I feel that there is always a space there, an atmosphere that one cannot normally sense. I think it is the time of nothingness, and I think it is something that can be expressed only in paintings where time stops.
(An offering, H 91cm x W 65cm x D 2cm, Painting)
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Lastly, TRiCERA supports the delivery of your work around the world. What does it mean to you to have your work spread overseas?
In my work as an artist in the genre of Japanese painting, I place great importance on natural mineral pigments, brushes, and materials. I value natural pigments, brushes, and materials very much in my work. What is possible only with Japanese painting? The sensibility of the blank space that only the Japanese can create. It may not be the same as the ancient style of Japanese painting, but it is because I value this aspect of Japanese painting. I believe that I can convey the splendor and beauty of materials. It is my hope that more and more people around the world will come into contact with the beauty of Japanese painting materials.
(Everything is one, H 165cm x W 133cm x D 4cm,Painting)
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When she was a student, she used to paint to purify herself, but after going through various experiences, she has become more conscious of what kind of person she wants to send her "heart" to. In her paintings, she captures the moments when people's hearts change, and even her own way of life and changes are projected into her works. The way she projects her own life and even changes into her works may be the reason why she continues to create dramatic empathy in the hearts of viewers.
Choji beniko Biography
1991 Born in Omiya, Saitama
Currently a member of the Contemporary Children's Art Association
Graduated from Omiya Kouryou High School, Fine Arts Department
Graduated from Joshibi University of Art and Design, majoring in Japanese painting
2016
The Power of Art 2016 / Shinjuku Isetan
2016 New Year Exhibition / Nagoya Mitsukoshi Sakae Store
Chocotto Art Exhibition / Shinjuku Isetan
MITHUKOSHI ART CUBE / Mitsukoshi Nihonbashi
Bijinga Exhibition, Bergamot Station Arts Center, Santa Monica, LA
2017
The Power of Art 2017, Isetan Shinjuku, Tokyo
BIJIN GA ZUKUSHI Publication Commemorative Exhibition / Gallery Art Morimoto / Tokyo, Japan
Art no Chikara Presentation Exhibition / Isetan Shinjuku / Tokyo
2017 Young Art Whirlwind Art Art Art. /Nagoya Matsuzakaya /Nagoya, Japan
Let's go with Art! /Isetan Urawa
Toru Horiguchi VS Beniko Choko -Bonpo-, Ginza Modern Art, Tokyo
Art Square Taipei/Elsan Hotel, Taipei
Woman Painting Exhibition /Shibuya Tokyu
In 2018
Art no Chikara Puchi! 2018/Shinjuku Isetan, Tokyo
Japan-France Contemporary Art Exhibition(Neo Japonism Resonance 2018)
Art no Chikara Selected Exhibition/Shinjuku Isetan
Vermeer Tribute Exhibition / MDP Gallery / Tokyo, Japan
KYOTO Exhibition, Ikebukuro Parco, Tokyo
2019
Art no Chikara 2019/Shinjuku Isetan, Tokyo
Bijinga Zukushi-2 Publication Commemoration Exhibition / Gallery Art Morimoto / Tokyo
ART FAIR TOKYO 2019 /Seisei Art Space Booth /Tokyo International Forum
Tsukiko Nakamura X Beniko Choko Collaboration Art Exhibition "Red Moon
Art Fair Beijing / Qing Art Space Booth
Yokoki Yasuyoshi X Choko Beniko Collaboration Art Exhibition / Galerie Ra / Tokyo, Japan
OSAKA ART FES / Hanshin Umeda / Osaka, Japan
Year 2020
Hankyu X Art Collectors Art Exhibition of New Stars / Hankyu Umeda / Osaka
2020 Young Art Whirlwind Art Art Art. /Nagoya Matsuzakaya /Nagoya
Apartment vo2 / Rashinban / Tokyo
Other many
Solo Exhibitions
2012 Beniko Choko Exhibition -to live- /Omiya Ishihara Seibido Gallery, Saitama, Japan
2014 Beniko Ding's solo exhibition - In the midst of loss, the thing that carves - / space2*3 Mitsui Art
2016 Beniko Ding's solo exhibition - Here I am. -/space2*3 Mitsui Art
2015 Beniko Choko Solo Exhibition / Cafe & Bar PONTE
2017 Beniko Ding's solo exhibition -Wish- / SOZO HARE&MAKE
2017 Beniko Ding's solo exhibition "To you. /Gyarary Tomo
2018 Beniko Chouko Japanese Painting Exhibition -That day- / Isetan Urawa
2018 Beniko Choko Solo Exhibition - Silent Body or Truth. /King Art Space
2019 Beniko Choko Japanese Painting Exhibition "Hanakotoba. GUM Omotesando
2020 Beniko Choko Solo Exhibition "Kagami-Ka-Sui-Getsu" / Kiyoshi Art Space
2020 Beniko Choko Solo Exhibition "Beside"/Ginza Okuno Building, Galley Ra, Sanuki Udon Aonoyama
2021 Beniko Choko solo exhibition "Time to melt together. / Seibu Ikebukuro 6th floor Art Gallery
Awards
Encouragement Prize, 36th Contemporary Children's Art Exhibition
The 37th Contemporary Children's Art Exhibition, Honorable Mention
The 38th Contemporary Children's Art Exhibition, Contemporary Children's Art Association Prize
The 5th Next Art Exhibition, Honorable Mention
The 39th Contemporary Children's Art Exhibition, The Ueno Royal Museum Prize
Selected, 31st FUKUI Thumbhole Art Exhibition
The 40th Contemporary Children's Drawing Exhibition, 40th Memorial Friend of the Society Award, nominated as a member
The 42nd Contemporary Children's Drawing Exhibition, Member Artist Award
The 45th Memorial Contemporary Children's Drawing Exhibition, Grand Prize for Contemporary Children's Drawing
Magazine publication etc.
The Rain that Falls on My Face" Natsuo Kirino (new edition) / Kodansha Bunko
The Night Abandoned by an Angel" Natsuo Kirino (new edition) / Kodansha Bunko
Rose Garden" Natsuo Kirino (new edition) / Kodansha Bunko
DARK" Natsuo Kirino (new cover) / Kodansha Bunko
Gekisoku Rakuen" by Minato Akagawa (paperback) / Futabasha
Fuwai Shinju" Keiko Yamaguchi (paperback) / PHP Bunko
"Who? Teruha Akeno (paperback) / Tokuma Bunko
Published books
The World of Beauty and Illusion Depicted by Contemporary Painters: Bewitchingly Beautiful Women" (Sogo Mook) / Sogo Shobo
Bijinga Zukushi" (supervised by Yasuaki Ikenaga) / Geijutsu Shinbunsha
Bijinga Zukushi 2" (supervised by Yasuaki Ikenaga) / Geijutsu Shinbunsha
The World of Bijinga Painted by Japanese Painters" (Tatsumi Publishing Co., Ltd.) Tatsumi Mook
Others
Still Flirting with the Future 2nd Mini Album "Four Seasons, as a Ceremony" Jacket Tsukiko Nakamura Main Visual Tomorrow's Epics 1St Album "Watashi to Watashi Datta Mono" Jacket Eyeglasses brand "VioRou" brand visual 2015 Fashion brand "0658 3rd collection "Black noise effect" collaboration work 4th collection "Errata of the front and back" collaboration 5th collection "last night cryptogaram" collaboration 6th collection "The under eye" collaboration Niigataa crowd of rebellion album "BLACK_:24", ":12_White" artwork
All the artworks introduced here are posted on TRiCERA.
