Fumio Tachibana blithely walks a path all his own, as if mocking those of us who spend our days impatiently striving to keep up with the latest trends, desperately pursuing present-day technological innovation. Many of Tachibana’s admirers have been captivated by his unique form of expression, one reliant on a unique sensibility and created entirely through handwork, and its clear departure from so much of the digital-by-default design that is awash in the world.
As responsible editor and art director for Kyutai [Sphere], a periodical he founded in 2007, Tachibana weaves together a unique world of books that he himself has described as “the start of letters” and “a slab of paper that jumbles together a range of expression: art, photography, (architecture), and words.”
The keywords Tachibana has adopted for his solo exhibition at ggg are “design” and “printed matter.” The show will cover, generously and without pretension, the many printed works he has created to date.
These days it is no longer unusual to seek out the texture of paper or the warmth of the handmade as a form of resistance against our computer/digital age. Tachibana’s work, as it did even before this trend began, conceals a subtle, delicate beauty that changes with each project, the deciphering of which may require close and careful viewing over time.
Leaving the cramped and clamorous flow of the city behind, immerse yourself in the designs of Fumio Tachibana, work that leads back to the essence of the act of making things.