ARCHIVE

Archive Report / POSTERS #001

In this archive report, we’re covering the POSTERS exhibition in summer 2019 that showcased the extensive collection of designers’ posters.

Date: June 28 (Fri.) - August 18 (Sun.), 2019
Venue: OFS GALLERY (in OUR FAVOURITE SHOP)

This elaborate exhibition at OFS Gallery features a collection of posters created by Japan’s leading graphic designers and artists. Many design superstars are among the exhibitors, such as:
Katsumi Asaba, Ryosuke Uehara, Kaoru Kasai, Atsuki Kikuchi, Kazumasa Nagai, Masayoshi Nakajo, Norio Nakamura, Kazunari Hattori, Yoshie Watanabe and Philippe Weisbecker.

The spectacular lineup of artists makes our hearts sing even before the exhibition starts. Thanks to the cooperation of those artists, the gallery is filled with many precious pieces including those that are one-of-a-kind or made with special techniques.

* Please refrain from reprinting or using any of the images in this article without permission.

Makiko Odaka, a planner of this exhibition shared the following remarks.

The POSTERS is an exhibition to showcase and sell the posters created by graphic designers and artists. We are grateful for their generous contribution to the collection drawn from their past works exclusively for this exhibition. In ordinary exhibitions, visitors can only appreciate the artworks, while the POSTERS allowed them to buy their favorite pieces. This might change the way they enjoy the exhibitions and help them to develop a new perspective and relationship with the artworks. The posters sold at the exhibition were all rare and limited to the original print run, with the exception of a few. I planned this exhibition so that visitors can find their favorite pieces and become a collector of these beautiful posters.

By providing a way to buy the exhibits, in addition to viewing them, visitors are encouraged to hold them in their hands or get as close as they can to examine every corner, which brings them many new discoveries. I also expected that posters can be an easy option for those who are not familiar with purchasing artworks to display them in their rooms. There was a visitor who told me “This is my first time to buy artworks.” I hope this exhibition served as an opportunity for people to discover the joy to collect and display posters.

Usually, posters on display are framed or paneled on the wall. At OFS Gallery, however, they were displayed in such a way that visitors could see them up close. We saw visitors appreciate posters in a unique way to OFS by taking a closer look at the printing surface and comparing several pieces side by side. The total number of works exhibited was about 100, but most of them went to the customers. We received a comment from a visitor, saying “I never thought I’d actually get a poster of one of my all-time favorite designs!” As the posters were created at different times, the exhibition received visitors of all ages.

The eye-catching POSTERS logo resembling that of baseball teams was designed by one of the exhibitors, Masayoshi Nakajo! He is an indispensable part of Japanese graphic design, well known as a designer of the logo and packaging for Shiseido Parlour, as well as an art director of Shiseido’s corporate culture magazine “Hanatsubaki.” The POSTERS logo hand-drawn by Nakajo is our treasure — all of our staff fell in love with it at the first sight.

The items displayed at the all-star exhibition were also first-class. Some were no longer available, some had been carefully stored, and some had been newly printed for this exhibition. Select exhibited works can be seen on this page. (Currently no longer available for sale.) One of Nakajo’s works “Fuji no Yamai” was very popular among designers and we received many orders.

The below are examples of other posters. There were so many variations to choose from that visitors found it difficult to pick one, and some even went so far as to buy the whole series.

At the opening of the exhibition, Katsumi Asaba gave a performance in which he poured red wine on his poster for a photo collection “Ordeal by Roses.” Inspired by Yukio Mishima, a famous author and the subject of the photographs, Asaba’s performance intended to stain the poster with red wine like blood.

Kazumasa Nagai also wore a T-shirt with the POSTERS logo and autographed his posters.

The POSTERS original goods are now on sale on OFS’s online shop. The lineup includes a T-shirt, tote bags, can badges (large & small) and a sticker. Personalize your PC and favorite items with the original sticker or enjoy coordinating your summer wardrobe with the POSTERS T-shirt!

The POSTERS original goods are available on OUR FAVOURITE SHOP online shop. https://ofs.theshop.jp/categories/364180

POSTERS Original and Archive Collection posters are available from the following pages.
See the lineup of POSTERS Original
See the lineup of Archive Collection