Les filles du calvaire gallery is pleased to present the work of Japanese artist Makiko Furuichi, who gained recognition following her solo exhibition at the Asia Now fair this autumn. This exhibition explores our relationship with invisible worlds through immersive installations, frescoes, and watercolor drawings on paper.
Taking as its starting point the series Angels from 1939, which Paul Klee began after a long illness and shortly before his death, the exhibition explores the interconnection between individuals, their sensory environment, and death itself. Klee, positioned at the threshold between two worlds, portrays his angels not as divine beings but as symbols of the uncertain passage between life and death. The exhibition's title, More Bird than Angel, taken from one of his drawings, invites us to see the world through spirits and nature, where angels and spirits (Yokai) act as messengers.
The figure of the Yokai, a supernatural creature from Japanese folklore encompassing spirits, ghosts, monsters, demons, and minor deities that interact with the human world, was discovered by the artist through the animated series GeGeGe no Kitaro by Shigeru Mizuki. In Makiko Furuichi's work, these creatures are not merely narrative or aesthetic elements borrowed from tradition but become vectors for exploring contemporary concepts such as the hybridization of humans and nature, the relationship with the invisible, and transformation.
By choosing the universe of Yokai, the artist also engages in an anthropological reflection on the societies that created them, deepening our understanding of humanity. Historically, these creatures were often blamed for phenomena such as epidemics or earthquakes, symbolizing the fragility of nature and our existence. Through these myths, Furuichi explores the boundary between the living and the inanimate, otherness and metamorphosis, strangeness and the unknown, while incorporating a humorous dimension that brings lightness to an increasingly violent contemporary context.
Angels and Yokai are not comforting figures but rather mysterious presences, symbolizing the fragility of life and the invisible forces that surround us. They embody this blurred boundary between the living and the spirit, between the material world and the beyond. The exhibition invites us to consider death not only as a separation but as a shared experience that alters our perception of the world.
Makiko Furuichi, a Japanese artist born in 1987 in Kanazawa, has been living and working in France since 2009. A graduate of the École Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Nantes and Kanazawa College of Art, she dedicates herself to watercolor, painting, and drawing while also exploring installations and sculptures using various materials such as ceramics, cement, and dyed or printed fabric. Her work also includes monumental wall frescoes with fantastical atmospheres.
