Everything Flows

Lechbinska Gallery is delighted to present the first solo exhibition by a Japanese artist Chiaki Saito in Switzerland. Renowned for her innovative use of paper, Saito brings a fresh perspective to the age-old technique of woodblock printing and crafts intricate, multi-dimensional installations with paper fibers. Additionally, Saito contributes to the art and academic worlds as a Professor at Hakuoh University and as the Director of the Kanuma City Kawakami Sumio Museum of Art.

At the heart of this exhibition lies “Generation Flow,” a monumental installation conceived exclusively for the Lechbinska Gallery, consisting of numerous woodblock prints. This piece is an extension of the acclaimed “Hydrospheres” series from 2019, which serves as a contemplative response to the devastating earthquake that struck Japan in 2011, destroying Saito's studio along with her artworks and materials. In navigating this phase of regeneration, Saito draws inspiration from the 13th-century text, Hōjōki, by Kamo no Chōmei. The text reflects on the impermanence of life and societal shifts in Japan due to natural calamities. Saito echoes the notion of “mujō” or the ephemeral nature of existence, akin to Heraclitus's idea that “everything flows,” symbolizing the constant state of change like a river’s flow.

The flow of the river never ceases,
And the water never stays the same.
Bubbles float on the surface of pools,
Bursting, re-forming, never lingering.
They’re like the people in this world and their dwellings.

(Kamo no Chōmei, 1212
Translated by Stavros)