村上隆さんのインスタグラム写真 - (村上隆Instagram)「👉 I would like to congratulate Yuji Ueda, who has elevated the artistry of his work this far, as well as his wife, Yui. I am also extremely grateful to Otani Workshop, @ota539 who introduced Ueda to me. I cannot thank you enough. I sympathize with my staff at Kaikai Kiki, among them Taima, Endo, and Ishimori, who had to handle the extremely unwieldy and heavy works. In fact, I heard the artist himself had a hard time handling his own works… You might notice my Academy-Award-worthy list of thanks, but such is the magnitude of this project’s success, as well as its difficult, lengthy undertaking. Whether the artist will continue such a tricky form of production would depend on many interlacing factors such as the artist’s motivation, our sustained interest, and business decisions, among others. But even if these works don’t sell, I believe it would be meaningful for him to continue producing such works for at least the next few years. Here, I should probably explain how this exhibition is quite different, in nature and in terms of how it came about, from how things are currently done in the ceramics industry in Japan. Normally, a ceramicist in Japan holds anywhere from two to twenty exhibitions a year with galleries throughout the country, repeating the show in different regions and thereby increasing sales efficiency and generating profit. The works are sold on consignment, with the gallery taking 40% of the profit while paying the artist his 60% only after the works sell. Some galleries may issue promissory notes, further delaying the actual payment and putting the stress on the ceramicists. Although Ueda hasn’t done many exhibitions and has apparently never experienced such a stressful situation as described above, he nevertheless entirely halted the lifestyle of making a living by doing a few shows every year to instead completely focus on this show for the past year and a half. In other words, in order to make this exhibition happen, Kaikai Kiki Gallery has been financially supporting the production of the show. Ueda would let us know his plans for his new work and propose how much he would require. @yuji____ueda @kaikaikikigallery ...👉」11月22日 16時43分