I have lived

Born 1961 in Hiroshima. Naito is an artist whose major exhibitions include, “One Place on the Earth” (Sagacho Exhibit Space, 1991), “the emotion of belief” (Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum, 2014), “Two Lives” (Tel Aviv Museum of Art, 2017), and “Rei Naito: on this bright Earth I see you” (Art Tower Mito, 2018). She has created permanent artworks, “Being Given” (Art House Project Kinza, Naoshima, 2001) and “Matrix” (Teshima Art Museum, 2010). In 2011, she began work on “hito” (the making of small human shaped sculptures), which has now been shown in Tokyo, Hiroshima, Okinawa, New York, and Berlin.

photo: Satoshi Nagare 　Courtesy of Taka Ishii Gallery

《Praying for Tokyo》

“If the axis of time were turned vertically, there would be a flow from Tokyo’s past to its future. If it were viewed horizontally, there would be an axis showing the connections between people and spaces. Standing at this intersection, we realize our present state of confusion. Without forgetting the tregedies of the past, what can we do today to move toward our future? Let’s start by praying together, with art.” (Kazuko Koike)

Together with three female artists – Rei Naito, Aiko Miyanaga, and Shino Yanai – the project will create “spaces of prayer”, providing requiems of the past from each Tokyo community, that are dedicated to our future.