Meet the Artist! GAKU will be at the exhibition venue KADO Gallery in Sapporo

Aug 11, 2021

Despite having severe autism, GAKU has blossomed as a painter and has been very active with solo exhibitions in New York, TV appearances, and collaborations with fashion brands.

His exhibition “THE POWER OF ART byGAKU” is currently being held at THE KNOT Sapporo and THE KNOT Tokyo Shinjuku. We are pleased to announce that GAKU will be at the exhibition venue “KADO Gallery” in Sapporo on Sunday, August 22.

Meet the Artist
 Date & Time: August 22 (Sun), 14:00 – 16:00
 Place: Kado Gallery THE KNOT Sapporo 1F (3 minutes walk from Susukino Station on the Namboku Line)
 Please note that the time is a little short, but we have decided on this time in consideration of GAKU’s workload.

About Exhibition
 Title: THE POWER OF ART byGAKU – For him, “painting” is the “point of contact” between autism and the world.
 Period: July 30 (Friday) – September 7 (Tuesday), 2021
 Venue: THE KNOT SAPPORO 1F KADO Gallery (10:00 – 22:30)
  THE KNOT TOKYO Shinjuku 2F Gallery (Open anytime)
 Other: Free admission
 Sales: THE KNOT official online store
  GAKU’s works will be available for purchase at THE KNOT official online store during the exhibition period only.

A miracle happened by three people. Coco-san, an art director, fell in love with the potential of Gacchan, GAKU’s nickname and brought out his talent for drawing. His father, Nori-san, jumped into the welfare industry because he couldn’t find any facilities in Japan that he wanted his son to attend. The three of them will be in the gallery on the day of the exhibition, so please feel free to come and visit them.

Nori-san and Coco-san’s stories about Gachan, GAKU’s nickname are always filled with good laugh. They talk about how he won’t let them throw their trash in the trash, how he used to throw up pizza on the ceiling when he was in a bad mood, and so on.

I’m a little distressed.
I’m feeling a little down.
I need some energy!

If you’re feeling that way, just drop by and have a look around. I’m sure you’ll feel the good energy.

“Creation is born from darkness. It was a miracle, or perhaps an inevitability, that the three of us who were in “isolation” came together. Nori talks, During Nori’s childhood, his parents joined a cult. He was brainwashed to believe that people in the world were “Satan’s people,” and he was completely denied the opportunity to interact with them, including friends, love, and dreams for the future.

Coco, with her striking red hair, has been active for many years as a designer for a high-end brand that has even participated in the Paris Collection. It is hard to imagine that she has a glamorous career, but her past includes a childhood where she was psychologically and sometimes physically abused by her own mother, who told her, “I wish you had never been born.

GAKU, or Gacchan, has not spoken since birth, and is unable to express his feelings and emotions in words. Gacchan, who has different senses, expresses himself through different actions, but he has been denied his “differences” in the name of medical education.Gachan’s current drawings have been cultivated through this long-term internal darkness.

Knowing the darkness is what makes the light shine.

Kado Gallery is located on the first floor of THE KNOT Sapporo. Admission is free, so please feel free to come. “Power of Art by GAKU” will be open until September 7.