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Kamihira Gallery: Local Artist Opens Eponymous Art Gallery on Frankford Ave.


  This fall, local artist Toshiro Kamihira opened his eponymous art gallery at 2527 Frankford Ave., across the street from the Quick Stop. The Kamihira gallery is an extension of an idea that began in Chicago with the artist’s TCC gallery.

  Kamihira, then a printmaking student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, came up with the idea of TCC for a summer business class he was taking.

  “It was this weird, amalgamous business model where it’s part store, part gallery, part hangout, kind of like a skate shop,” he said.

  Earlier this year, Kamihira left TCC in the hands of his co-founders and moved back to his hometown of Philadelphia to start work on the new gallery here.

/Paul Benson

/Paul Benson

  The Kamihira gallery has a broad focus on craftsmanship and things that are handmade. Works featured here may not necessarily be on display as part of a traditional gallery exhibition. Kamihira maintains that the commercial aspect of his business — the store — shares equal footing with the gallery space and a platform to observe, appreciate and purchase art. The store will eventually expand to feature ceramics, functional wear, zines, bags, records and even handmade furniture.

/Paul Benson

/Paul Benson

  The main criteria for objects featured in the store is that they have been produced by an individual person or a small group of makers — as opposed to being made in a factory. According to Kamihira, there is already a large market for factory-produced art (for example: items designed in Photoshop that have their printing or production outsourced to a larger company and are then sold somewhere like Etsy). He says there’s nothing wrong with this method of production, but that he’s simply more interested in bolstering a less visible market, featuring items that were created start-to-finish by local makers.

  “The question I’m asking is, can we support original craftsmanship and people who are making things in the community that we live in?” Kamihira said.

  Another point of distinction for Kamihira is price. He wants items sold in his gallery to be affordable, something that is rare not only in the art world, but also in the realm of handmade goods. “In Chicago, it was based around price-point, anything under 100,” he said. “I don’t want to limit myself to a price-point again, but I want items to be affordable relative to what they are.”

  The gallery’s store will open on December 16th for a holiday sale that will run through the 23rd.

  Currently, the space features two gallery shows. “Noon” is a collection of works originally curated by Thomas Pontone online at www.noon.gallery, and brought to physical exhibition by Kamihira. Pieces in “Noon” are hung in the gallery in sync with the natural lighting in the room. Different pieces are illuminated by sunlight depending on the time of day. The result is that works are displayed in a seemingly haphazard way that forces the viewer to engage with the art in unconventional ways, such as by kneeling on the ground.

  The second show is titled simply “Kamihira” and features works created by the artist’s family. Both shows end December 9th.

  For more information about the gallery check out Kamihira.us

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