Kobe Fashion Museum - Kobe, Japan 2015

Coordination for Kima Guitart by Jackie & Partners; Curation by Caean

The final stop for Kima Guitart's silk works on her visit to Japan was the Kobe Fashion Museum in Kobe's Rokko Island. Known as one of the top ten influential fashion museums in the world, the Kobe Fashion Museum's entrance lobby area was allocated for displaying Kima's painted silks from October 29, 2015 to November 15, 2015 for an exhibition entitled Lines and Colours Under Catalonia's Light.

To inaugurate the event Kima gave a short talk about herself and her works followed by a question and answer session from the audience. The audience reflected on the visible Japanese influences in her work that manifested through her occidental point of view, and how apropos it was for her works to be displayed in tandem with the main exhibition of Japanese Kimonos.

Following Kima's talk, the guests were guided by Kima and the exhibition curator, Tohru Momo of Caean. Mr. Momo began by explaining the concept of the exhibition's layout. The first four pieces one sees when entering the space were red and white or kouhaku (紅白). Red and white is used during auspicious times in Japanese culture and holds deep meaning in the Japanese psyche. For this reason, Kima's red and white pieces were presented first to elevate the Japanese influences in her work. Behind the red and white was a circle of pieces representing "the colours of Catalonia." And in the back against the wall hung Kima's breathtaking silk mural with gold embellishment. Kima then guided the curious guests through the exhibition and explained her painting style and how her techniques changed depending on design and the kind of silk  being used.

Kima Guitart is an artist, designer, and artisan. She trained in Paris and New York where she learned the traditional silk painting techniques from China and Japan. Her research of textiles have taken her to Mali, Burkina Faso, the Ivory Coast, Kyoto, Toas, Malaysia, and Borneo. Kima channels her diverse experience into powerful, modern works of painted silk.