The LOCATION Chronicle of Sosho Mochida

Since the opening of ICHION CONTEMPORARY, we have consistently focused on artists who developed unique modes of expression in the postwar Japanese art scene, particularly those rooted in the Kansai region. Among them, we are pleased to present the work of Sosho Mochida, born in Tokyo in 1934 and active for over half a century in Osaka. At the core of Mochida’s artistic practice lies a quiet yet persistent inquiry: how does human existence give meaning to the world and to matter? In his signature series titled LOCATION, he employs a strikingly physical process. By burning marks into air-imbued felt using a branding iron, he inscribes the trace of presence and attempts to generate meaning. Felt, as the principal material, is soft and porous, and it contains air. It symbolizes an undefined space that human existence can inhabit or touch. The marks burned into its surface act upon this invisible presence of air, transforming it into memory through a ritualistic gesture. For Mochida, this act represents a moment of meaning-making that transcends mere form.

The branded trace is not simply a signature. Rather, it is a record—an imprint indicating that someone was there. This act of giving shape to the invisible is only completed through the gaze of the viewer. Each work therefore becomes a site of relational meaning, where artist, material, and observer form a generative chain. This structure resonates with a worldview rooted in quantum physics, where reality is not determined until it is observed. Similarly, each piece in the LOCATION series comes into being through perception and remains open to renewed meaning.

This exhibition, which presents the first chronological survey of Mochida’s work, traces the evolution of his thinking and practice through a selection of representative and new works spanning from the 1970s to the present. It includes a wide range of formats such as sculpture, painting, and installation, all of which demonstrate the artist’s evolving engagement with material and spatial strategies.

Visitors will encounter recurring motifs emblematic of the LOCATION series. These include airplanes, shoes, staircases, and other symbolic elements. The airplane serves as an ambivalent icon of both hope and the memory of war, while shoes and stairs evoke human movement, traces, and spatial relationships. Deep, lucid blue tones also appear throughout Mochida’s work, acting as a visual language that evokes air, memory, and the subconscious.

The exhibition’s chronicle-like structure emphasizes the dual currents of transformation and continuity that shape Mochida’s artistic approach. By returning repeatedly to images such as air, blue, trace, airplane, shoe, and staircase, the work resonates with new depth over time. Meaning gradually accumulates and settles within us. Now in his nineties, Mochida continues to breathe in new air and inscribe fresh traces. His work is not a retrospective. Rather, it is a proposition that engages with the present moment and gestures toward the future. In this gesture, the artist quietly asks: Where are we, and what will we leave behind? ICHION CONTEMPORARY is honored to present the path of an artist who has remained apart from the noise of his era while continuing to observe the world with clarity and persistence.

Open :

11:00‒18:00 ※Closes at 17:30 on the final day

Closed :

Sundays, Mondays, and Public Holidays

Admission :

Free

Artists :

Sosho Mochida