Concept of the Work
One day, I saw a heap of flowers that had been pulled from a corner of the grounds at a gardening store I used to frequent. They had lost their commercial value and were discarded in a pile.
Despite that, the gathered plants still displayed vivid colors. Their tangled stems and roots remained fresh, and the moisture and light in the air made it seem as if they were still breathing.
Where does withering begin in a plant, and when does it start to die?
I wonder about that pile of flowers from back then,
the cut flowers left to linger in vases,
the bright chrysanthemums at the corner of the cemetery,
and the weeds pulled from the edges of the fields.
At what point are they alive, and when are they not?
The boundary between life and death in plants is very blurred—fluid, shifting, and sometimes overlapping.
Part of a plant may be dead, yet another part may still be undeniably alive.
What I had once considered “dead” may not have been so at all.
CV
MIOKO BABA
Born in Tokyo, Japan
EDUCATION
2014 Tama Art University, Faculty School of Art and Design, Bachelor's Degree Program,
Painting Department, Oil Painting Course.
2016 Tama Art University, Graduate School of Art and Design, Master's Degree Program,
Painting Major, Oil Painting Course.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2017 “corpse”, Gallery Yoh,Tokyo
2023 “Stacked Humidity”, CRISPY EGG Gallery, Kanagawa
2024 “Walking on the edge”, Fukuzawa Ichiro Memorial Museum, Tokyo
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2015 “TERRADA ART AWARD 2015”, t-art gallery, Tokyo
2015 “Sato International Cultural Scholarship Foundation Scholarship student’s Exhibition”, Sato Museum of Art, Tokyo
2017 “Yoh Gallery’s Selected Group Exhibition vol.1”, Gallery Yoh, Tokyo
2021 “ART PROJECT TAKASAKI 2021”, Takasaki, Gunma
2021 “Tama Art University research associate exhibition2021”, Art-Theque Gallery(Tama Art University), Tokyo
2022 “57th Kanagawa Art Exhibition”, Kanagawa Prefectural Hall Gallery, Kanagawa
2022 “Tama Art University research associate exhibition2022”, Art-Theque Gallery(Tama Art University), Tokyo
2022 “ART PROJECT TAKASAKI 2022”, Takasaki, Gunma
2022 “20th Art Gallery Home”, Charm Premier Grand Gotenyama Building2, Tokyo
2023 “Tama Art University research associate exhibition2023”, Art-Theque Gallery(Tama Art University) , Tokyo
2023 “ART PROJECT TAKASAKI 2023”, Takasaki, Gunma
2024 “42nd Ueno Royal Museum Grand Prize Exhibition”, Ueno Royal Museum, Tokyo
2024 “23rd Art Gallery Home”, Charm Suite Hatanodai, Tokyo
2024 “Tsukuba Award of Art 2024”, Toyosato Yukari no Mori Art Museum, Ibaraki & Aaron Gallery, Tokyo
2024 “ART PROJECT TAKASAKI 2024”, Takasaki, Gunma
AWARDS
2014 19th Ichiro FUKUZAWA Prize
2015 Jury Prize, TERRADA ART AWARD 2015
2016 1st Toeko TATSUNO Prize
2022 Kanagawa Prefectural Assembly Chairman Award, The 57th Kanagawa Art Exhibition
2022 Mitsubishi Estate Residence Special Award, 20th Art Gallery Home Exhibition
2024 Tokyo Metro Urban Development Award, 23rd Art Gallery Home Exhibition
2024 Second Prize, Tsukuba Award of Art 2024
SCHOLARSHIP
2014 24th Sato International Cultural Scholarship Foundation Scholarship
2015 Tama Art University Alumni Association Scholarship