Claudia Valsells and the «A-un» concept in Japan

With the excuse of a family trip, Spanish artist Claudia Vallsells did a 3 months stay in Japan. Those months, which she carefully planned ahead, meant to her a new approach to life and to art. The life changing experience began in October, when she started her trip in the city of Kyoto, and after spending a full month there, she visited The Setouchi islands for another month, finishing her journey in Tokyo.

Claudia’s work is an ode to color and the pureness of the plastic elements in art, so a travel to such a minimal and purist destination seemed like a clear path for her to choose. During the 3 months of her days in Japan she dedicated from 4 to 6 hours daily into the creation of new Works and the exploration of her artistic practice. The rest of the time she studied museums and the local culture in order to soak it all in and develop a series of work conscious and representative of her new environment.

Before arriving to Japan, Claudia had a clear and ambitious idea: to develop enough artworks for a solo show in the Asian country. The idea, that scared Claudia at the beginning, pushed her forward into the creation of new, yet very close to her signature style, artworks. The exhibition at the «Almost Perfect Gallery» took place in Tokyo, where she exhibited all of the Works created during her travel.

Every day Claudia discovered new colors that later she incorporated into a Color Chart, and completed a series of 4 travel journals with texts and paintings in a Japanese Calligraphy book. This, together with her Japanese-inspired paintings produced in Barcelona, will be part of her upcoming exhibition in the city, where she will explore the Japanese concept of “A-un”.

The idea of dedicating her upcoming exhibition to this freshly discover concept, came to her one day when visiting the dry gardens of Kyoto. “A-un” means the inhalation and exhalation in one breath, two concepts that even if contrary are necessary for one another, like body and soul, dreams and reality. The concept brings awareness to the present moment and allows the spectator to be calm and meditate over the beauty of the place he is in and to appreciate it from a mindfulness perspective.