"Dreams - Violence and Victims: Reinhardt Soebye"
2008-09-09 until 2008-09-27
Toho Gallery
Tokyo, , JP Japan

Reinhardt Soebye's Art Exhibition titled 'Dreams - Violence and Victims' opened on September 8 and continues until September 27, 2008, at Toho Gallery in Ginza, Tokyo. This will be Soebye's 9th solo exhibition at the Toho Gallery. In the collection of 29 pieces of works, Soebye focuses on victims of unreasonable violence, and it includes portraits of the parents of Megumi Yokota who is one of the Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea in the late 1970s. As one of the original artists at absolutearts.com, Reinhardt Soebye has been a Premiere Portfolio Artist since 2000.

Without any formal art education, Reinhardt Soebye dropped out of University to concentrate on art full time. The decision paid off and the self-taught artist has had successful exhibitions in a range of countries including Japan, England, the US, Cuba, France and Denmark.

Soebye’s work is deeply critical of modern society and concentrates on grim human issues such as war, poverty, loneliness and discrimination. The stark realism in his work often shocks the viewer and has won much acclaim among art critics.

After loosing his studio to a fire in 2001, Soebye moved away from drawing and has in the past years focused on computer production. With a collage technique combining digitally enhanced photographs, drawings, oils, Plexiglas and other 3-dimensional elements, Soebye’s art is captivating and unique.

By his own initiative, Soebye sent his material to various Japanese art critics including the prominent art expert Ichiro Hariu. Hariu was impressed by Soebye’s work and contacted several Japanese galleries resulting in a solo exhibition at Toho gallery in Tokyo in 1994. To date a total of 8 solo exhibitions have been held in the gallery, building an avid Japanese fan base. In 1999 Asahi Newspaper honoured Soebye with retrospective exhibitions at the Tokyo, Shinmonseki, and Kariya museums. In 2000 Hariu selected Soebye as curator for the exhibition “Art and Human Being” in the Gwangju Biennale in South Korea, but unfortunately he wasn't able to attend. Over 10 Soebye pieces were however presented at the event.

View more of Reinhardt Soebye's work in his Portfolio at absolutearts.com http://www.absolutearts.com/portfolio/r/reinhardtsoebye/

Related Links:

Indepth Arts Resources for Japan

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