Tsim Sha Tsui Harbour City | Japanese Woodcarving Artist Jin-O Tsuchiya's 'Dream of Fantasy Beasts' Lands at Harbour City Gallery

Description

Curated by the art curatorial team WAY by Way of Difference in collaboration with renowned Japanese woodcarving artist Jin-O Tsuchiya, the Harbour City Gallery presents his first art exhibition in Hong Kong, 'Dream of Fantasy Beasts', from 5 June to 6 July 2025. Internationally acclaimed for his 'Sprite-style Woodcarving', the artist will showcase his signature animal sculptures that blend traditional Japanese Buddhist sculpture with modern artistic concepts. The nine new creations each have their own stories and implications, inviting viewers into an artistic world where reality and fantasy intertwine.
 
 Jin-O Tsuchiya graduated from the Sculpture Department of Tokyo University of the Arts, and his in-depth research on ancient sculpture during his studies laid an important foundation for his artistic creation. He excels at seamlessly merging traditional Japanese Buddhist sculpture techniques with modern artistic concepts, creating a unique woodcarving style. He is particularly fascinated by exploring the essence and fantastical imagery of creatures, often featuring mythical beasts from reality and mythology, including kirin, unicorns, and mermaids, in his works.
 
 In terms of creative techniques, Tsuchiya primarily works with cypress and camphor wood, skillfully employing the 'jade eye' technique from traditional Buddhist sculpture. For the eyes of the animals, he embeds crystal beads specially crafted by glass artist Fukuo Tanaka. With minimal yet precise lines, Tsuchiya captures the lively postures of the creatures, complemented by his signature pale white coloring treatment. This approach retains the natural warmth of the wood while infusing the pieces with otherworldly vibes. Such a creative approach, blending traditional craftsmanship with modern aesthetics, sets Tsuchiya's woodcarving apart in the contemporary art realm.
 
 The inspiration for this debut Hong Kong exhibition stems from a warm and poetic moment in Tsuchiya's daily life - the sight of his sleeping dog gently twitching its limbs. This seemingly mundane detail sparked Tsuchiya's creative imagination, prompting him to re-examine the world from an animal's perspective and explore the subtle connection between 'perception of reality' and 'fantasy creation'. The exhibition presents a series of works that are rooted in ancient legends yet infused with personal life experiences, including Tsuchiya's signature animal subjects: the milky-white deer believed to roam freely between other worlds and reality, the unicorn symbolizing strength and freedom, the Loch Ness Monster gradually fading from modern memory, as well as important companions in his life - a Persian cat with a standoffish demeanor yet surprisingly popular among other cats, his late beloved dog, and the vibrant yet thorny roses in his garden.
  
 Deer, as a highly representative subject in Tsuchiya's artistic creation, has been reinterpreted repeatedly since his student days. Tsuchiya believes that the deer roaming freely in the Japanese mountains, especially those milky-white ones occasionally spotted near his suburban studio, symbolize a presence beyond human definition. This profound understanding and portrayal of spiritual beings have earned Tsuchiya high regard in the international art market, with his work auctioned at Ravenel in 2022 for a record-breaking 5.04 million New Taiwan dollars.

Tsuchiya's artistic footprint spans the globe, with notable recent exhibitions including the solo exhibition 'Myth in the Forest' at Ye Qi Gallery Leipzig, Germany, in 2023, his showing at the Kumano Kodo Nakahechi-ji Art Museum in Wakayama Prefecture in 2021, and a solo exhibition at Karuizawa New Art Museum in 2013. His works are collected by several renowned art institutions, including Takamatsu City Museum of Art, Hokkaido Asahikawa Museum of Art, and Arizona State University Art Museum in the USA. The 'Dream of Fantasy Beasts' exhibition at Harbour City Gallery will be the first time that Asian audiences will be able to fully appreciate the artist's years of artistic contemplation on the essence of life and spiritual existence.
  
 Tsuchiya has created a total of nine completely new woodcarving works for his Hong Kong debut, each with its own story and implication:
 
 《Dragon》
 2025
 63 × 73 × 20cm
 Painted camphor wood, crystal
 Tsuchiya created this piece in memory of his late dog, wishing for it to have a dragon-like majestic form in heaven.
 
 《Unicorn》 - 1
 2025
 66.2 × 53 × 17cm
 Painted camphor wood, crystal 
 The unicorn has a pointed horn on its forehead, resembling the sculptor himself holding a carving knife, resonating with the image of the unicorn 'carving the future with its horn'.
 
 《Cat》
 2025
 47 × 23 × 31cm
 Painted camphor wood, crystal (made by Fukuo Tanaka)
 Modeled after Tsuchiya's Persian cat, standoffish yet surprisingly popular among other cats.
 

《Lion》
 2025
 39 × 47 × 19cm
 Painted camphor wood, crystal (made by Fukuo Tanaka)
 The lion has long symbolized fearless strength, and Tsuchiya attempts to reshape this notion in his work. In his rendition, ferocity transforms into suppleness, and strength hides within fluidity.
 
 《Loch Ness Monster》
 2025
 26 × 60 × 26cm
 Painted camphor wood, crystal
 As a child, Tsuchiya's friends firmly believed in the existence of the Loch Ness Monster. With fewer believers nowadays, he uses his art to preserve this fading legend.
 
 《Deer》
 2025
 50 × 33 × 21cm
 Painted camphor wood, crystal
 In Japan, deer are revered as messengers of the divine, commanding awe; yet when they venture into farmlands, they are deemed pests and driven away. Tsuchiya believes that deer should be free spirits, unbound by any restraints.
 
 《Flower Dragon》
 2025
 50 × 33 × 21cm
 Painted camphor wood, crystal
 Tsuchiya's home garden is filled with vibrant roses, their beauty juxtaposed with sharp thorns. Inspired by these roses in full bloom, he created this dragon symbol to represent rebirth.
 
 《Unicorn》 - 2
 2025
 41 × 40 × 11cm
 Painted camphor wood, crystal
 The unicorn sports a pointed horn on its forehead. As a sculptor, Tsuchiya is particularly drawn to the act of carving, resonating with the image of the unicorn 'carving the future with its horn'.
 
 《Puppy》
 2025
 24.5 × 34 × 16cm
 Painted camphor wood, crystal (made by Fukuo Tanaka)
 Tsuchiya owns a lovely dog, but when they first met, it was already fully grown. This prompted Tsuchiya to often imagine its puppy days, inspiring this artwork.
  
  
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