Hello. I'm Rika Ito, a printmaker. This time I will introduce "Art Space & Cafe Barrack" in Seto City. A gallery with a café operated by artists Kanako Kondo and Taiki Furuhata.

"Art Space & Cafe Barrack" is a 7-minute walk from Owari Seto Station on the Meitetsu Seto Line.

At the entrance, the business hours and the poster of the exhibition on display are posted.

It opened in 2017 after renovating the space that was originally an electric appliance store.

They also made our own counters, walls, and tables.

The store has a high ceiling and a comfortable space. It seems that at the live event they had in the past, it was well received for its good sound.

On the shelves are the products of Granite textile design and stone products by Miho Taguchi, who works with her sister and is currently exhibiting at the gallery.

Besides, flyer of Mr. Kenji Okamoto scheduled for the next exhibition,

Art books are also lined up.

Art book by Takumi Kato.

Homemade syrups and pickles are waiting under the shelves.

Collect information from this basket! !

For today's lunch, you can choose hashed beef or chicken cutlet.

I ordered a chicken cutlet. While waiting for the food, I would like to visit the gallery space in the back of the shop.

Gallery space in the back of the shop

There is a gallery space in the back of the shop.

There is a desk on the right as you enter.

When the artist isn't around, if you write your name and your impressions with the meaning of "I've come to see you," it will boost the artist's morale, so let's do it!

The name of the exhibition is "Yamayama".

There is something drawn in front of the entry table, so I will take a look.

is what it reads.
It's a rare and interesting experience episode.

The works are displayed in the room.
From the left, the titles are "Stone", "Stone", "Mountain", "Mountain", and "Mountain".

Here are my favorite works

It is "Mountain".

There are traces of something drawn in the gray, and the faded parts are also beautiful. And the pink paint feels good.

It's also nice. The title is "Mountain" and the one drawn is hidden in black. I'm worried about the pink line that flickers. And gray is beautiful!

And one more thing. The first two "Mountains" are mountains at night, and this is the mountain during the day. You can see the mountains overlapping.

When you look at the side of the campus, you can see a glimpse of light blue! Things that you never imagined from the front can be seen from a different angle.

These works were created by Miho Taguchi.

Miho has been good at arts and crafts since she was a child, and in the second grade she won an award for her poster of "Let's brush teeth!" and her mother praised her when a poem she wrote for homework was published in the class newsletter. She had been thinking of becoming a painter or a poet.

The works are drawn by looking at photographs, patterns, and photographs of mountains, and then painted with oil paints on canvas.

In the "Yamayama" exhibition, there was only one different type of work.

The title is "untitled" only for this work.

Originally, it was created with the intention of copying the pattern of old soap, and the circle part is drawn using cardboard as a mold.

“I draw this picture carefully, and although there are regulations, I can automatically paint separately, which is different from what I usually draw. Sometimes I feel the limits of what I usually draw, so it is fun to see the changes due to regulations.

Many of Miho's usual works are drawn in a single color (although the colors have depth.) The drawing style and atmosphere of the "Untitled" work are different, so I'm curious about the future development of her work.

Miho is exhibiting her works at Barrack for the second time. "I don't mind drawing anything," she says.

"I was trying to change what I had done in my 20s in my 30s, and in my mid-30s I had an opportunity to exhibit at Barrack. When I was thinking about what to draw, my grandmother passed away, and I, who was so close to her, was deeply saddened and began to draw things related to her such as embroidered cushion covers made by her, for mourning. Then I came across something I wanted to draw.

Then, I drew various things related to myself as a motif.

There are other reasons for the title of this year's exhibition, ’YamaYama,’ besides the experience episode I have just described. The name "Miho" means ’beautiful Hotaka,’ and one of the factors was that I saw Hotaka about a year ago. I heard from my mother that the mountain is actually tough to climb, unlike its appearance, and I thought, 'Let's draw a line with the mountain as a motif.'

Due to the coronavirus, I had some free time to clean up my room, draw the scenery outside the window, and have time to look back on the past, which seemed to be a good opportunity."

Miho's work, which she describes in an indifferent manner, seems at first glance to be a work of art you might want to ask yourself, "Is this a mountain? Are they stones? Why don't you paint more?" But she says, "This is fine." But at the same time, I feel happy as if she is saying to me, "You are fine just the way you are. I would like people to actually see the work and interact with it!

To the cafe space

While I was enjoying the paintings in the gallery, the chicken cutlet I ordered arrived.

Comes with 4 kinds of side dishes. It's as delicious as it looks! The color is also beautiful.

A hearty set meal! !

Barrack offers snacks and tea in its café space.

There is also cake during tea time. This is apple crumble.

Crumble and apples are the best! And the combination of warm crumble and cold ice cream is a happy taste.

"Art Space & Cafe Barrack" opened on June 10, 2017. It will be 4 years in June this year. It is run by Kanako Kondo, who is in charge of the cafe, and Taiki Furuhata, who is in charge of the gallery.

After graduating from Aichi University of the Arts, Kanako was a part-time high school teacher and a lecturer at an art institute. She thought that she was working in a place close to "art", but she wanted to have a long-term relationship with people who are doing art, and she started thinking about creating such a place.

When Kanako was in college, Taiki, who was in charge of the gallery, and several other people managed an alternative space called "Gakushoku Nikai Jigen."

It used to be a space where people from the university sometimes held exhibitions, but when I looked it up, I found out that there had been a "Planning Department" for about 10 years, and that they had started cleaning up a warehouse (a place like an equipment room) and started their activities. From there, she was able to connect with seniors, plan exhibitions for people on campus, and manage activities like club activities.

"Art Space & Cafe Barrack" is a place like the "Gakushoku Nikai Jigen".

Such a Barrack naturally attracts writers and people who make things.

Kanako said, "I feel that the number of people who know about this place has gradually increased. Not only is it a hub for art, but Seto is also a town of pottery, so it makes me happy when I see pottery artists exchanging information and meeting and talking with people who I haven't met in many months or years. I'm glad that I started the shop because I was able to interact with more people than I had imagined, and relationships were born."

Not only the artists, but also neighbors and people with children come to the store, so I can see that there is support from a wide range of people.

Kanako is also active as an artist. Half of the week, she takes a break from the store to create.

"I am able to have a good balance of time to work and create. Before I started this store, I didn't have a good connection between my work and my artwork, but now I hope to spend my time affirming both my painting and my work at the café," she said.

Kanako is planning an exhibition called "Seto Contemporary Art Exhibition" in 2019, and introduces artists who have origins in Seto.

She is expanding our activities in many areas.

When asked about her future activities, she said, "I would like to use the store as a base to go out and plan projects. Seto is a city where craftsmanship has continued for a long time, with vacant warehouses and support for creators. I feel that it is an environment that makes it easy to create. I would like to hold the "Seto Contemporary Art Exhibition" again, ” she told me.

An artist Miho's impression of Kanako is that she is "free and active." Kanako says happily, "I like making food and getting together with people." I got the impression that she enjoys her work while cherishing her relationships with the people around her, with "creating" at the core of her work.

You can come just for the gallery. You can also come just for a meal or a cup of tea. We can't take our eyes off Barrack, which is visited by people who make things to people of all ages!