Bender Gallery is honored to present My Soul: Mexican Surrealism with a Japanese Heart, the first solo exhibition in the US of Japanese Mexican artist, Yui Sakamoto. Sakamoto paints large colorful and highly detailed dream-like works, carrying forward the rich history of Surrealism in Mexico.  With his unique dual heritage, Sakamoto seamlessly blends themes and iconography from Japanese culture, Mexican folk art, pre-Columbian artifacts, and current cultural references.  Sakamoto’s work is nothing short of amazing and Bender Gallery is proud to showcase it in the US.  The exhibition runs from Saturday August 5 through August 26.  There will be an opening reception on August 5 from 5-8 PM.

One can argue that Mexico has been an important center for Surrealism for centuries. Long before the influx of Surrealist artists and writers fleeing Europe at the onset of World War II, Mexico had a Surrealist movement of its own percolating. The landscape of Mexico is surreal itself: pyramids, Olmec, Mayan, and Aztec sculptures and friezes repeatedly depict double headed serpents, masks of Bat God, huge Olmec heads, skulls with bulging eyes and bared teeth, effigy vessels in the shape of jaguars and other fantastical beasts.  Skull and skeleton imagery (calaveras) are ubiquitous throughout Mexico from Day of the Dead festivities, treats such as sugar skulls, clothing and art. These often-humorous “calaveras and catrinas” add to the other-worldly feel of the landscape.  To add to the cacophony, Mexico is a deeply Catholic country and religious imagery is ever present. In fact, Surrealist Salvador Dali famously said, “There is no way I'm going back to Mexico.  I can't stand to be in a country that is more surrealist than my paintings.”

One cannot speak of surrealism in Mexico without mentioning the haunting work of native artist Frida Kahlo.  During the war, Mexico City was an epicenter for the Surrealist Movement.  Several European Surrealists remained in Mexico after the war such as Leonora Carrington, Gordon Onslow Ford, and Remedios Varo.

Yui Sakamoto’s work is pure genius. Highly detailed stream of consciousness imagery seems to randomly inhabit the canvas, yet there is a clear sense of order in the Bosch-like dreamscape.  The painting, My Soul 2023, is an excellent depiction of Sakamoto’s dual identity in two vastly different cultures.  The painting depicts two central figures highly decorated in the fashion of brightly colored folk art alebrijes seen in tourist areas all over the country. The top figure is a kai ken, one of the original dog breeds of Japan.  It is adorned with Japanese imagery including koi fish, a dragon, and a foreboding Samurai with a knife in his mouth.  It is set against a fiery landscape, reminiscent of the desert landscape of San Miguel.  The bottom figure is a jaguar (a symbol of Mexico) decorated with imagery of the Sacred Heart, Our Lady of Guadalupe, an ear of maize, a smiling skull, and more.  The jaguar is set against a sea of Hokusai-like waves in a starry night sky and an image of Tokyo.

In the middle of the painting is a dreamlike landscape with a watchful eye, a spaceship, San Miguel in the clouds and an image of Jesus surrounded by a rainbow, perhaps referring to the artist’s subconscious mind integrating two cultures.

Yui Sakamoto was born in Aichi, Japan, July 1981 and grew up in Nagasaki.  After high school, he lived in Perugia, Italy for two years, soaking in the abundance of art.  In 2003, Sakamoto moved to Monterrey, Mexico earning a Carrera de Arte in 2008 at the University of Monterrey.  He now lives in a Japanese ex-pat community in the fittingly surreal and beautiful city of San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato Mexico.  Sakamoto’s work has been exhibited in museums and galleries in Mexico, Japan and China. He can be followed on Instagram at @groovygnome.