ART TOWER MITO [Kodue Hibino: Commodity Tune-up] Kodue Hibino Solo Exhibition

Contemporary Art Center/Gallery, ART TOWER MITO Mito Arts Foundation 1-6-8 Goken-cho, Mito-shi, Ibaraki-ken, 310-0063 Japan Click for transportation directions Phone: +81 29-227-8111 Facsimile: +81 29-227-8130 E-mail address: webstaff@arttowermito.or.jp

HIBINO KODUE NO SINAZINA + - + - +
Kodue Hibino: Commodity Tune-up
+ - + - + - + - + - +TASIHIKI- NO ANBAI

Aug. 18 (Sat) to Oct. 14 (Sun), 2007

Closed: Mondays (except Sept. 17, 24 and Oct. 8), Sept. 18 (Tue), 25 (Tue), Oct. 9 (Tue)

A costume artist boasting a career that stretches almost two decades, Kodue (pronounced "Koh-zoo-eh") Hibino has taken the bold step of putting together her first exhibition ever to be held at a large art museum - "Kodue Hibino: Commodity Tune-up" - to be held this summer and early fall at Art Tower Mito's Contemporary Art Gallery. The exhibition introduces various items she has designed for people to wear and accessorize - clothes, hats, glasses, handkerchiefs, costumes, and clothes - all of which demonstrate the way her individual acts of creation have broadened the world of expression.

When undertaking the design for a 'house,' the first thing Kodue Hibino does is to handle the furniture (such as tables, chairs, beds, baths, bookshelves, racks, carpets, etc.), and then the clothes, which in her hands are wildly imaginative. Most of the products to be displayed at the ATM this time are new creations exclusive to the exhibition.

In addition, Kodue Hibino works hand in glove with the manufacturers of her products to create "artworks," which then become commodities as they pass through the hands of the people in charge of distribution, when at last they reach the hands of the end user. She approaches production, by means of this cycle, as the "be all and end all" of making things. At times she steadfastly refuses to give up her original conception, at which point she must engage in a clash over practical matters with the manufacturers, who are in the position of converting her images into actual shape. Through that give and take, Hibino "tunes up" her "commodities," finally turning them into products that are simultaneously artworks. That process leads to the naming of ATM's exhibition.

Chair with Wheels
drawing 2007

Coat + Bag
drawing 2007

Kichen Table with Basin
drawing 2007

Reclining Bed
drawing 2007

Poach + Blouson-style Jacket
drawing 2007

Kodue Hibino's commodities-cum-works are full of ingenious little details, thought out from the perspective of those who actually will use them in the midst of their lifestyle. They also reflect Hibino's own lifestyle habit of taking good care of things. They are not merely short-lived consumer goods, but exude an aura or presence of being collector's items with artistic value. What Hibino seeks are the values and style of living smart, loosened up and relaxed, with the amenities made out of living spontaneous ideas.

"Kodue Hibino: Commodity Tune-up" also signifies an attempt at a new kind of exhibition, one that not only explores the possibilities of art as daily life, but also one in which all the works exhibited will eventually be sold.

*During the exhibition, the reception staff and gallery monitors will all wear uniforms that Hibino specially designed for the exhibition.

Uniform for ATM Face Staff
drawing 2007

Soumoku no Doresu (Dress for Grass and Trees) 2006
Exhibition at Kanaz Forest of Creation

Profile of Kodue Hibino

Born in 1958 in Shizuoka Prefecture (Japan), Hibino graduated in 1982 from the Design Department (Visual Transmission) of the Faculty of Fine Arts of the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts & Music (Tokyo Geijutsu Daigaku). She started working as a costume artist in 1988. Besides designing costumes for the stage, movies, opera, ballet, and music videos, among others, she has also held private exhibitions of her works. In 1997, she married the famous artist Katsuhiko Hibino, and changed her name from Kozue Naito to Kodue Hibino. She is currently responsible for the costumes and set of NHK Educational TV's "Nihongo de Asobo" and "Karada de Asobo" programs for children; the "Nihongo de Asobo" program won the Good Design Prize in 2004. Hibino designs and develops various small goods (handkerchiefs, tableware, etc.) and clothes in close coordination with various manufacturers. She put out a Japanese version of "Brothers Grimm's Star Talers" in 2001 in Shinpusha's Artist Book Series, and has published collections of her works, "Naito Kozue" (1991), "Naito Kozue 2" (1995), and "Kodue Hibino 3" (1999), all by Fusosha Publishing Inc.

Kodue Hibino's official site:
http: //haction.co.jp/kodue/home.html

Exhibition Details

	Name:	"Kodue Hibino: Commodity Tune-up"
	Period:	Aug. 18 (Sat) to Oct. 14 (Sun), 2007
	Times:	9:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. (no admission after 5:30 p.m.)
	Closed:	Mondays (except Sept. 17, 24 and Oct. 8), Sept. 18 (Tue), 25 (Tue), Oct. 9 (Tue)
	Venue:	Contemporary Art Gallery, Art Tower Mito (ATM)
	Admission:	¥800 General
		¥600 Advance Purchase, Groups (20 or more)
		Free Students through 9th grade, Seniors 65 and older, Persons with certified disabilities along with one caretaker
	Ticket purchase:	Ticket Counter, ATM Entrance Hall *One-year Free Pass: One-year passes are also available for purchase at the ATM Entrance Hall Ticket Counter. The H.T.P. (High-teen Pass) for young people aged 15 to 19 costs ¥1,000, and the Adult Pass for adults aged 20 to 64 can be bought for ¥2,500.
	Organizer:	Mito Arts Foundation

ATM Contemporary Art Gallery's
Pass for Adults

A pass has been designed for adults aged 20 and older, letting the holder make an unlimited number of visits to the Contemporary Art Gallery's exhibitions for one year from the date of purchase.
The price is ¥2,500 The artwork on the pass has been designed by Hiroko Ichihara, an artist who incorporates words in her works. The logo on the pass reads: "Contemporary art -- as easy as pie." The pass is on sale at the ticket counter in Art Tower Mito.

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Translated by Paul T. Narum
(official names of exhibitions and artworks are furnished by the artists and planners themselves)

Copyright ©2007 MITO ARTS FOUNDATION. All Rights Reserved. Created by TK.
Mail to: webstaff@arttowermito.or.jp