Kamon Show
From November 15 2007 until early January 2008, Via Alley Shop held an in-store exhibition of Japense art collective Kamon Design.
Kamon are Japanese symbols of time past, derived from patterns of natural phenomenon: the stars, moon, rivers and mountains. Over time, they have been altered and modified, like dividing cells, into new iconic forms.
As a collective, Kamon Design engineer ancient Kamon into modern works of art. Designers Keiichi Tanaami, Masaru Ishiura, Namaiki, Marok and Naohiro Ukawa take pieces of the codified past and translate it into a new present, their books, prints and animations creating a Kamon kaleidoscope that evolves before the eye.
Kamon have exhibited widely around the world in creative boltholes such as Berlin’s Circle Culture Gallery, Pret a Porter Paris, Tokyo’s Mori Arts Centre and Paul Smith’s London boutique.
VA Shop presented the works of Kamon Design in two rounds. Keiichi Tanaami x Masaru Ishiura on November 15. Followed by Namaiki x Marok x Naohiro Ukawa on December 14.