"Kurai" ("It's dark") says someone as we open the door at the new entrance of Nanzuka gallery in Shibuya, Tokyo. Yet, the freshly painted black walls and dimly lit stairs inside set the mood for a gallery specializing in underground art, and provide the perfect contrast to the explosion of color that awaits on the white walls below.
The first exhibition in Nanzuka's new space (one floor down from its previous gallery) is "Amulet of the Tapir" by Keiichi Tanaami — the artist's first solo show at his home gallery in three years, and with all new paintings.
According to Japanese mythology, tapirs (baku) are known to eat bad dreams, so perhaps the amulet of the title is meant to protect viewers from any nightmares induced by Tanaami's work.
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