HENKYO is pleased to present Culture and Civilization, a solo exhibition by Akitsuna Komori
In his first solo exhibition at the gallery, Komori will present a wide range of works, from his characteristic paintings of black garments, to his “The absent mother ” series and Fresco works.

– Study on the Relationship between Religion and Art Based on the Nature of Culture and Civilization – Seisho Yoshiyama, a researcher in the history of comparative environmental thought and environmental philosophy, defined culture and civilization in his book “The Conceptual Discrepancy of the Civilization and Culture”(*) as follows.

Culture : a complex consisting of man’s own material lifestyle, social behavioral style, and spiritual activity style, which is formed by the knowledge acquired by man as he interacts with his environment.

Civilization : a historical and progressive “social embodiment” of culture and a measure of cultural inventiveness.

He argued that “culture supports civilization, and civilization is the progressive form of culture to society,” regarding their connection, and concluded that “culture is the result of human creativity, and civilization is the crystal of the practical activity of culture by humans. The chart below is a rearrangement of his conceptual relationship for this exhibition.

Religions have played a central role in spiritual culture since ancient times. Although there were differences among religious types and regions, the attributes of religion varied widely, including education, art, and medicine. Gradually, with the development of science and the social division of labor, these roles were lost, and now their main function is as ethics and rituals within a group.

On the other hand, artistic civilization has also served as a means to develop religious culture. For example, paintings and sculptures in churches served to visually convey information to illiterate people. The subjects of these works were mainly religious teachings and prayers, which is why Western art history and Christianity are so closely tied together today.

Even before the emergence of specific groups and organizations such as Christianity and Buddhism, artistic civilization has functioned as a tool for the evolution of religious culture. The connection between religion and art can be seen in the traces of prayer: the prehistoric cave paintings of Lascaux and Altamira, and the patterns on Jomon pottery.

Religion and art are often questioned as being necessary in society. However, they arise in the process of creating human civilization and are considered to “exist” before their necessity. Therefore, it is impossible for only one of them to exist, and it can also be said that they are “two sides of the same coin”; they share spiritual culture and aim for spiritual civilization.

(*) Seisho Yoshiyama, (2006), The Conceptual Discrepancy of the Civilization and Culture, Yokkaichi University Journal of Environmental and Information Sciences, Vol.9, No.2

• Saturday 6th July to 27th Saturday July 2024
• 12:00-19:00 (Closed on Sundays and Mondays)
• Opening Reception : 5th July (Fri) 19:00-21:00