"Accept the overflowing feelings,

An entity that opens the door to creativity

Vol.5

Artist

"White Canvas"

Kanako Sasaki

Live comfortably. You will shine.
Lineart Charmant 15th Anniversary Special Interview Project

A person who is full of radiance is sure to have the best partner by their side.

When you become one with a wonderful partner, you can shine endlessly.

Line Art Charmant also wants to be a "partner" that is close to people and helps them shine even more.

From the stories of 15 professionals active in various fields

We will unravel the secret of the brilliance that comes from a sense of unity with your partner.

People who are full of brilliance are sure to have the best buddies by their side. When you become one with the perfect partner, you can shine endlessly. That is also the idea behind Line Art. We want to be close to people and increase their brilliance.

We will speak with 15 professionals active in a variety of fields and unravel the miracles that unity brings about and the secret of its brilliance.

Live in comfort. You will shine.
Lineart Charmant 15th Anniversary Special Interview Project

Vol.5

Artist

"White Canvas"

Kanako Sasaki

- From Illustrator to Artist

Kanako Sasaki, whose works combine dynamism and quiet strength and have been highly praised both in Japan and overseas, says she was "a girl who was good at drawing" from an early age.

"My mother was an illustrator, so I grew up watching her draw pictures, and art was always a part of my life. But I never thought about making a living from drawing pictures, and by the time I was in high school I thought I wanted to work in design or interior design."

He entered the Department of Industrial Design at Tohoku Institute of Technology, where he studied spatial and environmental design, graphic design, etc., and in his third year, when it came time to choose his major in the genre he liked, he chose illustration.

"I began to admire the fashion illustrations published in magazines such as Vogue and Elle, and decided that I wanted to become an illustrator."

After graduating from university, he moved to Tokyo and worked as a designer at a graphic design company, while searching for a way to become an illustrator by sending illustrations he had drawn during his student days here and there. After meeting someone who noticed his work, he was offered a job with an apparel brand, and began working full-time as an illustrator.

"My dream of going out into the world and having many people see my illustrations came true, and I was blessed with the opportunity to work for a magazine that I had always dreamed of. I was thankful that I was able to continue submitting rough drafts and delivering them almost every day for around 10 years, but during that time I guess the desire to create my own work started to bubble up within me. I decided to become independent from the illustration management company and focus on creating my own works."

When he first started out on his own, he was well-known as an illustrator but was unknown as an artist. He gradually released his work on websites and continued to hold group exhibitions with friends.

"While continuing these activities, I was offered an opportunity to exhibit my work at an overseas art fair through a gallery in Osaka. By experiencing art fairs and solo exhibitions both in Japan and abroad, I was able to face myself more deeply as an artist while working on my art. And, little by little, I think people are beginning to recognize the world and style of the work of 'artist Sasaki Kanako'."

- Infuse a wide range of emotions into your work and present it at various locations

Sasaki's works are dynamic abstract paintings.

"The theme of my work that I have always maintained is 'never stop thinking'. I always try to express the range of my emotions as an artist. There are good and bad times in life. Just as understanding painful experiences can lead to the next happiness, I feel that the greater the swing of the 'pendulum of the heart', the richer a person can be. I hope that people can feel the range of emotions that are constantly changing through my work."

In parallel with the production of his works, he receives daily collaboration offers from various sources, including fashion brands and department stores.

"Originally as an illustrator, I valued client work, so I find it rewarding to interpret the theme of the job I'm offered in my own way and think about how to express what is required in my own way. Hints can be words, the atmosphere, scents, and many other things. I've done live painting on the windows and walls of department stores and shops, and my drawings have been used as fabric for clothing and packaging... In 2023, through a miraculous connection, I was also involved in the costumes of the dance club at Tezukayama Gakuin High School in Osaka. My work was featured on the inside of the skirt, and I was so moved by their amazing performance that won the competition, that it broadened my interest in the genre of stage costumes."

- The self that exists at any given time reflected in the work

Sasaki says that the most stressful part of creative work is facing a blank canvas.

"Even when I'm faced with a white canvas, I often wait a little while before starting to paint. There is something I want to paint, but I don't know where is the best place to put my brush, and whether I should put my brush down at all...I feel a fear of exposing myself, or even a little terror. But strangely enough, once I put down the first stroke, my feelings start to overflow, and I can't stop."

Some people say that artworks are like a mirror, reflecting our emotions and lives at the time. I wonder if Sasaki feels the same way about his own work.

"I wasn't really aware of it myself, but people around me often say that my work changes at each turning point in my life. I clearly changed when my mother passed away, and it seems to have continued to change when I was pregnant with my mother and my belly was getting bigger, and again after I gave birth. I've always created works in the hopes of being recognized by my mother, chasing after her footsteps, but from now on I hope that my works will resonate somewhere with my son's sensibilities and become a part of him. Even though I say I reflect myself, it's not necessarily the case that I can create good works if I'm in a happy state; I think it's easier to project my feelings when my emotions are fluctuating."

He says his relationship with glasses also changed after his son was born.

"I started wearing glasses when I was in elementary school. At the time, I felt embarrassed that I was the only one who wore glasses while none of my friends around me wore them, but I also felt happy that it made me look more adult. When I hit puberty in high school, I was in the tennis club so I switched to contact lenses. Since then, glasses have always been a fashion item, but after my son was born and I had to wake up in the middle of the night to breastfeed him, I realized again how essential they were. When I concentrate on creating my work, I hardly blink, so I wear glasses even when I'm in a pinch because I've overused my eyes."

- A sympathetic feeling in the story of making glasses

At Charmant Ginza Namiki-dori, Sasaki selected a pair of Boston-shaped glasses with an impressive glossy plastic front.

"I had a hard time deciding between the khaki model of the same design and the demi brown, but I went with the demi brown which blends in well with my skin. I use my eyes and brain when creating, so I can't concentrate if glasses cause me discomfort or stress, but the Line Art Charmant glasses have soft temples and a great fit, so they're stress-free, which is great."

Aiming to provide the ultimate stress-free wearing comfort for eyeglass wearers, Line Art Charmant has spent eight years developing a unique material called "Excellence Titanium" that provides unprecedented springiness. Furthermore, by using laser micro-joining technology that maximizes the characteristics of the flexible material, the company has achieved both beauty and comfort.

"By listening to the store staff tell me the development story, I learned about the brand's passion and dedication, and got a sense of the true essence of manufacturing."

Starting this spring, he will also be taking part in the artwork for the key visuals for Line Art Charmant's i-series.

"It was a lot of fun thinking about the touch and color while imagining the story and world view that each pair of glasses is based on. I'd like to try making a glasses case someday. It would be interesting if when you opened the lid there was a picture on the inside and the glasses inside were personified, creating a background that told a story."

In addition to his solo exhibition in Tokyo, Sasaki hopes to share his work with many people in the Tohoku region, including his hometown of Sendai.

"I will continue to work on canvases with the hope that through my work I can bring energy to people in Tohoku and around the world."

What does a white canvas mean to you?

Just as the white canvas is Sasaki's "partner" and the stage for his works on which he projects his own personality at any given time, Line Art Charmant will continue to aim to be a partner that is close to everyone and adds brightness to their lives.

White canvases stocked in Kanako Sasaki's studio.

The glasses worn this time are the XL11111 DB from the Presto Collection. The popular Boston shape has a slightly smaller form and a unique bridge. Sasaki is unique in that he enjoys popular designs from the men's collection in a genderless way.

Photos: Yoshihito Sasaguchi (SIGNO)

Hair&Make-up：Junko Kobayashi

Realization: Tomoko Shimizui

INFORMATION

Gallery Edel, which stocks Kanako Sasaki's works

https://www.instagram.com/gallery_edel/

This is an art gallery that mainly deals with contemporary art.
The gallery is closed on irregular days, so please make a reservation before visiting.

PROFILE

Born in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture in 1983. Graduated from the Department of Industrial Design at Tohoku Institute of Technology.
A female artist who has produced numerous works using expression that combines dynamism and delicacy.
The works, which contain a variety of colors and light and bring to light a variety of deep human emotions, such as hope, passion, impulse, joy, desire, and frustration, blur the boundaries between the visible and the invisible, and awaken essential questions and sensations that lie deep in the hearts of viewers.

The exploration of human existence itself is the driving force behind his work, and throughout it he embarks on a philosophical journey that travels between universal beauty and inner conflict.
He has also worked on numerous advertising visuals, apparel brands, and collaborations with corporations, going beyond the boundaries between artwork and client work to further expand the possibilities of expression.