Ayako Rokkaku. Works 2006-2021. by Gallery Delaive

Ayako Rokkaku 1

Ayako Rokkaku

Works 2006-2021

Ayako Rokkaku with Nico Delaive, Carlotta Delaive, Niki Delaive and Samuel Delaive at “Fumble in colors, tiny discoveries”, Museum Jan, Amstelveen, The Netherlands.

The girl who used her fingers to paint Once upon a time there was a shy young Japanese girl. One day, she thought she’d use her fingers to paint…It’s the perfect beginning to Ayako Rokkaku’s art history fairy tale. The twist in the story comes when she meets a gentle giant who owns a gallery in a small and foggy land, far, far away. The gallery owner has unlimited faith in her finger-painted works. He buys everything the girl makes, invites her to travel to his country and helps her become a global star, with collectors queuing on her doorstep. That, in a nutshell, is the modern Cinderella story of Ayako Rokkaku and Nico Delaive. The two protagonists first met at the Volta art fair in Basel, Switzerland in June 2006. They posed for a photograph together, Delaive the size of a burly judoka and diminutive Rokkaku who comes halfway up his chest. It’s a remarkable double portrait. The then 48-year-old gallery owner solved the disparity in height by putting one arm under her backside and lifting the 24-year-old artist up with no more effort than as if she were a child. She is resting her arms on his left shoulder, careful not to let her paint-covered hands stain his pink polo shirt. Both are laughing at the camera.

Ayako Rokkaku and Nico Delaive at the Kaikai Kiki stand at Volta art fair in Basel, Switzerland, June 2006, Photo: Boy Houtman.

The photo was taken at the stand of Kaikai Kiki, the gallery owned by renowned Japanese artist Takashi Murakami. Rokkaku was part of a group of five young Japanese artists presenting their work to an international audience for the first time. They had caught the eye of the critics some months before, at the Geisai six-monthly fair for young artists in Tokyo, another one of Murakami’s efforts to put his country’s art in the spotlight. At the fair, Rokkaku demonstrated what would become her trademark technique: live painting, using her fingers as paint brushes, in a style uniquely her own. Starting out by mixing her colours on a plastic plate, she then puts paint to paper with relaxed movements of the wrist. The swish of a jazz drummer’s brush on the drumhead breaks the silence, at times ending with a subtle scratching as she uses her nails to plow through the fresh paint. In Tokyo Rokkaku painted sitting on the floor on pieces of cardboard roughly torn from boxes. Cardboard is pleasant to the touch, she has explained many times. It feels warm and when you’re done you can stand it up against the wall. Her subjects at Geisai were, as usual, girls, Manga-like creatures with big eyes wearing pretty frocks and happy hairdos, all painted in pastel colours. Girls are fun to paint, she says. They are curious and full of life. She hopes some of that energy communicates itself to the viewer. The art fair jury, which included experts such as François Pinault, owner of auction house Christie’s, Japanese architect Tadao Ando and French gallery owner Emmanuel Perrotin, were impressed. Rokkaku was given a prize and, according to a reporter from the Art Newspaper, Perrotin even bought some of her cardboard works. At Kaikai Kiki’s stand in Basel, Rokkaku once again painted in public. Delaive, who has always loved colourful art, immediately fell for her cardboard paintings. Rokkaku’s girls in their seductive rainbow colours were completely to his taste. “They were happy paintings, such as I had not seen before,” he said. They reminded him of the work of Jean-Michel Basquiat, the neo-expressionist American artist who died at a young age and one of whose works once graced Delaive’s wall. The gallery owner visited the fair with two Dutch collectors. Acting on his recommendation, they each bought ten of Rokkaku’s cardboard girls. It didn’t break the bank: the paintings cost no more than 50 to 75 dollars each. Delaive, faced with a rapidly depleted number of works, did not buy anything that time. Instead, he accepted an invitation from Takashi Murakami to come to Tokyo, where Rokkaku would again be present at the next edition of Geisai three months later. That second meeting between Rokkaku and Delaive would herald the start of their success story.

Ayako Rokkaku and Nico Delaive at Geisai #10, Tokyo, Japan, 2006.

Geisai 10 The tenth edition of Geisai took place on September 17, 2006 in the East Hall of the exhibition and conference centre Tokyo Big Site. Hundreds of young artists had rented a stand there to show their work to some 10,000 visitors. Delaive, who had arrived in Tokyo the day before, decided to beat the crowd and made his way to Rokkaku’s stand at eight in the morning, before the official start of the fair. She was still preparing her stand. Leaning against a wall were some 40 big-eyed cardboard girls. That moment, too, was photographed, and published on the online fair blog on Kaikai Kiki’s site. Delaive is wearing his pink polo shirt again and is bending over to get a good look at the paintings. Rokkaku, who is wearing her customary paint-spattered jeans, is watching. The caption expresses surprise: “This collector came all the way from the Netherlands for Geisai.”

To Rokkaku’s astonishment, Delaive bought every single one of her works and invited her to show at his gallery in Amsterdam. He followed it up with an offer he would only make once in his life as a gallery owner. “I will buy everything you make from this moment,” he said. Rokakku took him up on his offer, which Delaive honoured for many years to come. But exactly who are the main characters in this story? Rokkaku and Delaive have more in common than a love for colourful art alone. Both are largely self-made, for instance. Ayako Rokkaku (Tokyo, 1982) was an avid doodler as a child. Like Delaive, she comes from a background where visiting museums was not a part of life. She was 13 when she saw a picture of a painting by the 19th-century French artist Jean-François Millet in a schoolbook. It was her first experience of art. The contrast between light and dark and the love of nature which suffused the peasant scene made a profound impression on her, she said in an interview for the catalogue Delaive published of her work in 2019. For the first time she became aware that “paint could shape reality in a way that words can’t”. It also taught her that “painters are able to make feelings travel through time and space.” After finishing high school, Rokkaku enrolled as a graphic design student but soon found that to be a designer would be to dance to a client’s tune. As a 19-year-old she longed for a profession that would give her the space to express her own feelings. Her poems show her dreams and aspirations at the time. Rokkaku was a quiet girl, who found communicating with others difficult. “After a conversation I would feel shame. Understanding another person completely is very hard. I was looking for a different way of connecting with the world. Not through words.” Moving to an art school did not cross her mind. What she did instead was buy crayons and sketch pads to draw at home in her room. She did not find it easy to put her voice on paper and express what was happening around her, so she decided to look for inspiration outside. Things will become clearer in the bright light of day, she decided. A Tokyo city park, a favourite haunt of street artists, became her studio for the next two years. While she participated in a number of shows with her fellow park artists, her style was obviously very different from theirs. The others, she felt, knew much more about the history of art. It was not until years later, when she saw the works of Jackson Pollock, Cy Twombly and Jean-Michel Basquiat at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, that she felt she had become close, as she put it, to unknown members of her family.

Diamond cutter At the age when Rokkaku started to paint, Nico Delaive (Amsterdam, 1957) started a gallery. Like Rokkaku, his career choice was not based on any knowledge or training in the history of art. He started selling art the way Rokkaku started painting. Growing up, Delaive had no idea what he wanted to be. One of his grandfathers sold vegetables and his father went from being a diamond cutter to selling textiles. Delaive drifted into training to be a goldsmith at 16, selling his simple home-made rings to his parents’ friends at birthday parties. His talents as a salesman were apparent from the start. On Dutch national holiday Queen’s Day, eight-year-old Delaive would entice passers-by to try their luck on a toy gambling machine. At 13, he and a friend would dig out cesspits behind empty houses in the medieval heart of Amsterdam. Digging down to three of four metres –“I was a strong as a horse in those days,” Delaive said – they would find all sorts of treasure: pipe bowls, glass beakers, bottles and toys. The antique dealers in the city were only too happy to buy, providing a welcome addition to the boys’ pocket money. Despite being a certified goldsmith and jeweller, Delaive still had trouble finding a job. “Why don’t you start an art gallery?”, his mother said one day. A friend of her husband’s had been providing money to two men from former Yugoslavia who were buying primitive art back home and selling it in the Netherlands. There’s money in art, she told her son. By the end of 1977, the young Delaive, still largely ignorant about art, and the two men, were running a gallery in the centre of Amsterdam. They called it GIN, a combination of the first letters of their names: Gordon, Ivo and Nico. Delaive, not yet 21, needed a special dispensation to be able to open up shop. Once the formalities had been dealt with, he became the youngest gallery owner in the Netherlands. His partners busied themselves buying art (primitive art from Yugoslavia was very popular in the 1970s) and soon they expanded their range to include graphic design. Delaive asked journalists and collectors for the names of well-known Dutch artists, found out their phone numbers and made them an offer. This direct approach led to the publication of a number of graphic art folders which sold well. GIN also sold reproductions of paintings, signed and in limited editions, something he would also do with some of Rokkaku’s work. This is now more common but at the time the “signed posters”, as a critic from a big newspaper called them, were sneered at.

But the critics fell silent when Delaive had two of Rokkaku’s gouaches made into screen prints in 2021. The response was overwhelming. Some 3,000 collectors, mostly from Southeast Asia, reported in not 15 minutes after Delaive opened subscriptions. Four weeks later, 13,000 prospective buyers were vying for 400 works. Fortunately, Delaive, who had been struggling to satisfy the demand for Rokkaku’s work for some years, had become used to saying “no”. When GIN closed its doors in 1983, Delaive continued to sell art independently, first from the premises of an antiquarian friend and then from his own gallery, located in a canal house a stone’s throw from the prestigious Rijksmuseum where Rembrandt’s Nightwatch hangs. Gallery Delaive has been in business for the last 30 years. It is not big, some 135 square metres, and Delaive employs just one assistant. That has not stopped him from becoming one of the most successful art dealers in the country. How did he do it? Delaive combines a discerning eye with great business acumen. Ayako Rokkaku is by no means his only success. Delaive sold numerous works by Karel Appel (1921 – 2006), for instance, the Netherlands’ most important post-war artist, and over a thousand works by Sam Francis (1923 – 1994), the American artist who became known for his colourful brushwork and paint splatter on canvas and paper. Delaive’s approach hasn’t changed over the years. He gets in touch with the artist directly, buys as many of their works as he can afford and puts them together in an exhibition. Once he has sold them, he goes back for more. In the 1980s and 1990s, he flew to California and back no fewer than 40 times, big wads of cash in his pocket, to visit Sam Francis at his studio to buy works and replenish his stock. Another artist he had close ties with was Chinese-American artist Walasse Ting (1929 – 2010), who had come to Amsterdam to sign posters of his work at his Dutch publisher’s in 1985. When Delaive saw the colourful posters of women surrounded by parrots, cats and other animals, the then 28-year-old immediately smelled a business opportunity. Delaive asked Ting if he could buy some of his works. “You are the best”, Ting said when Delaive took him to Amsterdam’s most luxurious brothel Yab Yum. Not much later, when the American decided to make a book of 100 Dutch nudes, Delaive went out to recruit the models by placing an advertisment in the local newspaper and visiting student bars.

Ayako Rokkaku live painting during the vernissage of her first solo show at Gallery Delaive, Amsterdam, 2007.

Design Festa Singlemindedness, intuition and serendipity also play a role in Ayako Rokkaku’s development as an artist. She was still working with crayons, brushes and paper in 2002, when she participated in Design Festa, a two-day art event in Tokyo where amateur artists rub shoulders with professionals. Contrary to the other stand holders, Rokkaku did not bring any finished works. Instead, she sat down on the floor and started to draw and paint the way she used to at home, or in the park. Nobody paid any attention. What can I do to make them notice me? she thought. She selected her fattest brush and daubed away. It did not make any difference. Then, in an inspired moment, she put her brushes to one side and started painting with her fingers. A few people stopped to look and soon a small crowd gathered at her stand, asking questions. When she ran out of paper, she turned to the cardboard packaging that was strewn all around. She liked the material straight away. The audience’s positive reactions, followed by a couple of sales, convinced her she was on the right track.

Another important factor in Rokkaku’s development is her relationship with Delaive. Her Dutch patron not only bought her work for years, he also provided materials and studio space, buying prepared canvases, and the best acrylic paint by the truckload. In Amsterdam, she had the use of studios and flats, including the studio above his gallery, a crisply lit north-facing space with a view of the Rijksmuseum and the sky over Amsterdam. Painting on canvas took a bit of getting used to. Cardboard could be painted flat on the floor but to paint a canvas it had to be upright, making the paint drip, a technique she discovered for the first time and has since adopted. She often stacked her cardboard paintings against the wall like roof tiles, so they looked like a single work of art. A painting on canvas can be hung individually – a whole new departure for her.

Ayako Rokkaku live painting at the art fair ‘Art Amsterdam’, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 2009.

Delaive worked tirelessly to promote Rokkaku’s work, by showing her work in his gallery and negotiating shows at foreign galleries. He organised solo exhibitions and group shows at museums and showed her work at some 40 fairs in 10 countries. He published at least five catalogues of her paintings and produced screen prints and ceramics as well as advertising her art where he could. Delaive sold her first framed cardboard works for 800 dollars a piece, only for the fortunate buyers to auction them off for a hundred times the amount. He had been selling the winning lottery tickets without realising it, Delaive said later, a little ruefully. But like any savvy gallery owner, Nico Delaive always collected works by the artists he represented. The artworks by Ayako Rokkaku in this catalogue all come from his private collection. They are not only a reminder of his 16-year close relationship with the artist, but also illustrate a fairy tale that came true. Arjen Ribbens September, 2023

Ayako Rokkaku live painting at the studio in Amsterdam.

Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled (AR20), 2006, acrylic on cardboard, 66 x 59 cm. 14

Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled (AR21), 2006, acrylic on cardboard, 83 x 40 cm.

Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled (AR07-094), 2007, acrylic on cardboard, 73 x 59 cm.

Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled (AR07-120), 2007, acrylic on cardboard, 52 x 50.5 cm.

Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled (AR07-198), 2007, acrylic on cardboard, 97 x 57 cm.

Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled (AR07-200), 2007, acrylic on cardboard, 79 x 58.5 cm.

Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled, 2007, acrylic on cardboard, 63 x 46 cm.

Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled, 2007, acrylic on cardboard, 35 x 50 cm.

Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled (AR08-41), 2008, acrylic on cardboard, 82 x 51 cm.

Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled (AR08-002), 2008, acrylic on cardboard box, 86 x 19 cm. 22

Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled (AR08-003), 2008, acrylic on cardboard box, 50 x 22 cm.

Ayako Rokkaku painting in the Amsterdam studio, 2008.

Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled (AR08-062), 2008, acrylic on cardboard, 49 x 46 cm.

Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled (AR09-028), 2009, acrylic on cardboard, 78 x 75 cm.

Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled, 2012, acrylic on cardboard, 54 x 82 cm.

Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled (AR12-001), 2012, acrylic on cardboard, 125 x 63 cm.

Ayako Rokkaku, Nico Santa, 2018, acrylic on cardboard, 70 x 59 cm.

Ayako Rokkaku and Nico Delaive in the Amsterdam studio, 2018.

The studio in Amsterdam, 2019.

Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled (AR19-013), 2019, acrylic on cardboard, 90 x 80 cm.

Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled (AR19-001), 2019, acrylic on cardboard, 81 x 48 cm.

Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled (AR19-008), 2019, acrylic on cardboard, 90 x 80 cm.

Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled (AR19-015), 2019, acrylic on cardboard, 47 x 89 cm.

Ayako Rokkaku painting in the Amsterdam studio, 2019.

The studio in Amsterdam, 2010.

Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled, 2010, acrylic on cardboard, 20 x 28 cm.

Ayako Rokkaku live painting at the art fair ‘Art Cologne’, Cologne, Germany, 2007

Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled (ARP07-014), 2007, acrylic on canvas, 250 x 200 cm.

Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled (ARP07-022), 2007, acrylic on canvas, 70 x 50 cm.

Ayako Rokkaku in the Amsterdam studio, 2007.

Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled (ARP07-054), 2007, acrylic on canvas, 18 x 13 cm.

Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled (ARP07-046), 2007, acrylic on canvas, 18 x 13 cm.

The studio in Amsterdam, 2008.

Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled (ARP08-004), 2008, acrylic on canvas, 150 x 150 cm.

Ayako Rokkaku painting in the Amsterdam studio, 2008.

Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled (ARP08-037), 2008, acrylic on canvas, 40 x 40 cm.

Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled (ARP08-055), 2008, acrylic on canvas, 153 x 100.5 cm.

Ayako Rokkaku painting in the Amsterdam studio, 2008.

Ayako Rokkaku in the Amsterdam studio, 2008.

Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled (ARP08-066), 2008, acrylic on canvas, 50 x 50 cm.

Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled (ARP08-107), 2008, acrylic on canvas, 140 x 100 cm.

Ayako Rokkaku painting in the Amsterdam studio, 2008. Ayako Rokkaku live painting at the ‘Art Fair Tokyo’, Tokyo international Forum, Tokyo, Japan (Solo).

Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled (ARP08-088), 2008, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 90 cm.

Ayako Rokkaku in the Amsterdam studio, 2008.

Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled (ARP08-097), 2008, acrylic on canvas, 100 x 100 cm.

Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled, 2009, acrylic on canvas, 92 x 125 cm.

Ayako Rokkaku, Sam, 2009, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 60 cm. 58

Ayako Rokkaku, Niki, 2009, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 60 cm.

Ayako Rokkaku with Niki and Samuel Delaive in the Amsterdam studio, 2009.

Ayako Rokkaku, Cooper, 2009, acrylic on canvas, 30 x 40 cm.

Ayako Rokkaku with Niki, Samuel and the family dog Cooper in the Amsterdam studio, 2009.

Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled (ARP09-017), 2009, acrylic on canvas, 100 x 140 cm.

Ayako Rokkaku painting in the Amsterdam studio, 2009.

Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled (ARP09-034), 2009, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 60 cm.

Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled (ARP10-009), 2010, acrylic on canvas, 70 x 50 cm.

Ayako Rokkaku live painting “Girl in Moment” at ‘Guy Pieters Gallery’, Knokke-Heist, Belgium, 2009. 66

Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled (ARP09-043), 2009, acrylic on canvas, 200 x 300 cm.

Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled (ARP10-028), 2010, acrylic on canvas, 100 x 100 cm.

Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled, 2010, acrylic on canvas, 70 x 60 cm.

Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled, 2010, acrylic on canvas, 70 x 60 cm. 72

Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled, 2010, acrylic on canvas, 70 x 60 cm.

Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled, 2010, acrylic on canvas, 75 x 154 cm.

Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled, 2010, ceramic plate, Ø 51 cm.

Ayako Rokkaku painting at ceramic studio, Amsterdam, 2010.

Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled, 2010, acrylic on LP cover 31 x 31 cm.

Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled, 2010, acrylic on LP cover, 31 x 31 cm.

Ayako Rokkaku, girl in blue dress, 2010, acrylic on cardboard 104 x 76 cm.

Ayako Rokkaku, pink house, 2010, acrylic on cardboard 250 x 200 x 100 cm.

1. Ayako Rokkaku, white bird, 2010, acrylic on cardboard 49 x 46 cm. 2. Ayako Rokkaku, pink bird, 2010, acrylic on cardboard 49 x 46 cm. 82

3. Ayako Rokkaku, dino, 2010, acrylic on cardboard 217 x 240 cm.

5 4. Ayako Rokkaku, yellow bird, 2010, acrylic on cardboard 49 x 46 cm. 5. Ayako Rokkaku, deer, 2010, acrylic on cardboard 128 x 120 cm. 6. Ayako Rokkaku, turtle, 2010, acrylic on cardboard 21 x 24.5 cm.

Ayako Rokkaku, brown bear, 2010, acrylic on cardboard, 120 x 88 cm. 84

Ayako Rokkaku, white monster, 2010, acrylic on cardboard, 130 x 100 cm.

Ayako Rokkaku, white monster with penguin, Untitled, 2010, acrylic on cardboard, 146 x 100 cm. Ayako Rokkaku, penguin, 2010 acrylic on cardboard, 39 x 43 cm.

Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled, 2011, acrylic on cardboard, 247 x 185 cm.

Ayako Rokkaku painting in the Amsterdam studio, 2010.

Ayako Rokkaku painting at ‘Decoratelier Nationale Opera & Ballet’, Amsterdam, 2011.

Ayako Rokkaku, girl with two ghost rabbits, 2011, acrylic on linen on foam sculpture, 160 x 230 cm. 89

Ayako Rokkaku painting in the Amsterdam studio, 2011.

Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled (ARP11-000), 2011, acrylic on canvas, Ø 200 cm.

Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled (ARP11-A), 2011, acrylic on canvas, 100 x 140 cm.

Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled (ARP11-C), 2011, acrylic on canvas, 100 x 140 cm.

Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled, 2011, acrylic on canvas, 300 x 450 cm.

Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled, 2011, acrylic on canvas, 330 x 450 cm.

Ayako Rokkaku live painting at art fair ‘Art Cologne’, Germany, 2011.

Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled, 2011, acrylic on canvas, 330 x 450 cm.

Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled (ARP11-003), 2011, acrylic on canvas, 140 x 100 cm.

Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled (ARP11-021), 2011, acrylic on canvas, 160 x 200 cm.

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Ayako Rokkaku live painting at Gallery Delaive, Amsterdam, 2016.

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Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled, 2016, acrylic on canvas, 140 x 180 cm.

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Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled, 2012, acrylic on canvas, 24 x 30 cm.

Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled, 2016, acrylic on canvas, 100 x 100 cm.

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Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled (ARP18-017), 2018, acrylic on canvas, 145 x 75 cm.

Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled (ARP18-019), 2018, acrylic on canvas, 145 x 75 cm.

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Ayako Rokkaku live painting at ‘Complexcon’, Los Angeles, USA, 2018.

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Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled (ARP18-024), 2018, acrylic on canvas, 200 x 300 cm.

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Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled (ARP18-025), 2018, acrylic on canvas, Ø 225 cm.

Ayako Rokkaku live painting at ‘Complexcon’, Los Angeles, USA, 2018.

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The studio in Amsterdam, 2018.

Ayako Rokkaku, ARLV18-09, 2018, acrylic on Vintage Louis Vuitton Monogram suitcase, 51 x 21 cm. Ayako Rokkaku, ARLV18-08, 2018, acrylic on Vintage Louis Vuitton Monogram suitcase, 108 x 44 cm.

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Ayako Rokkaku, ARLV18-04, 2018, acrylic on Vintage Louis Vuitton Monogram “Boite Chapeaux Ronde 50”. 116

Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled, 2018, acrylic on Vintage Louis Vuitton Monogram bag, 35 x 40 cm.

Ayako Rokkaku live painting at the art fair ‘KunstRAI’, Amsterdam, 2018.

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Ayako Rokkaku, Carlotta’s handbag, 2009, acrylic on Louis Vuitton Monogram handbag, 23 x 14 cm. Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled, 2018, acrylic on Vintage Louis Vuitton Soccer Ball France 1998 Limited Edition Monograms, Ø 20 cm. 118

Ayako Rokkaku, Niki, 2010, acrylic on Louis Vuitton Monogram Ipad case, 21 x 25 cm. Ayako Rokkaku, Sam, 2010, acrylic on Louis Vuitton Monogram Ipad case, 21 x 25 cm.

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Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled (ARP19-069), 2019, acrylic on canvas, Ø 130 cm.

Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled (ARP19-070), 2019, acrylic on canvas, 70 x 50 cm.

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Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled (ARP20-009), 2020, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 90 cm.

Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled (ARP21-16), 2021, acrylic on canvas, 100 x 150 cm.

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Ayako Rokkaku, Edition A, 2021, Silkscreen in 93 colors printed on Corona Magnani paper, Edition of 200 + 25 E.A, numbered and signed by artist, 73 x 103 cm. Ayako Rokkaku, Edition B, 2021, Silkscreen in 67 colors printed on Corona Magnani paper, Edition of 200 + 25 E.A, numbered and signed by artist, 73 x 103 cm.

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Ayako Rokkaku signing Silkscreen Edition A and B in the studio Amsterdam, 2021

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Ayako Rokkaku signing Silkscreen Edition C in the studio Amsterdam, 2021

Ayako Rokkaku, Edition C, 2021, Silkscreen in 78 colors printed on natural cardboard shaped and mounted on corrugate cardboard, Edition of 200 + 25 E.A, numbered and signed by the artist, 66 x 89.5 cm.

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Ayako Rokkaku, preliminary sketch for the Royal Delft ceramic edition, acrylic on board, 2020, 28 x 38 cm. 128

Ayako Rokkaku, test model for the Royal Delft ceramic edition, papier mache, 2020, 39 x 13.8 x 28.7 cm.

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Ayako Rokkaku, Royal Delft Sculpture, 2021, each piece handpainted ceramic, Edition of 200 + 15 E.A. and 25 Roman numbers, 39 x 13.8 x 28.7 cm. 130

Ayako Rokkaku at ‘Royal Delft’, Delft, The Netherlands, 2021.

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Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled (design for sticker 1), acrylic on paper, 2019, 59 x 73 cm. 132

Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled (design for T-shirt), acrylic on paper, 2019, 82 x 58 cm.

Ayako Rokkaku painting in the Amsterdam studio, 2019.

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Ayako Rokkaku painting in the Amsterdam studio, 2019.

Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled (design for sticker 2), acrylic on cardboard, 2019, 48 x 53 cm.

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Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled, acrylic on cardboard, 2010, 84 x 70 cm. 136

Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled, acrylic on cardboard, 2010, 84 x 70 cm.

Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled, acrylic on paper, 2021, 70 x 70 cm.

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Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled, acrylic on denim jacket, 2019.

Samuel Delaive wearing Ayako Rokkaku denim jacket at “Fumble in colors, tiny discoveries”, Museum Jan, Amstelveen, The Netherlands, 2019

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Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled (Wooden house), Acrylic on wood, 2019, 189 x 189 cm.

Ayako Rokkaku at “Fumble in colors, tiny discoveries”, Museum Jan, Amstelveen, The Netherlands, 2019.

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Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled, acrylic on wooden plate, 2021, Ø 50 cm.

Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled (Year of the Boar), Acrylic on panel, 2019, Ø 30 cm. Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled (Year of the Rat), Acrylic on panel, 2020, Ø 30 cm. Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled (Year of the Ox), Acrylic on panel, 2021, 20 x 20 cm.

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Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled (painted plate), acrylic and marker on ceramic plate, 2016, Ø 26 cm. 144

Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled, marker on bubble wrap, 2019, 37 x 27 cm. Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled, crayon on wrapped canvas frame, 2011, 25 x 19.5 cm. Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled, crayon on plastic wrapped carton, 2019, 31 x 51cm.

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Ayako Rokkaku PROFILE 1982 Born in Chiba, Japan. SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2006 Galerie AAA, Paris, France. 2007 “Walkin’ Around Clouds”, Gallery Delaive, Amsterdam, Netherlands. 2007 Galerie Moderne, Silkeborg, Denmark (in collaboration with Gallery Delaive). 2007 Galerie Teo, Tokyo, Japan (in collaboration with Gallery Delaive). 2008 Galerie Wild, Frankfurt, Germany (in collaboration with Gallery Delaive). 2008 Gallery Delaive, Amsterdam, Netherlands. 2008 Juliana Gallery, Seoul, Korea (in collaboration with Gallery Delaive). 2009 San Carlo Gallery, Milano, Italy (in collaboration with Gallery Delaive). 2009 “Girl in Moment”, Guy Pieters Gallery, Knokke- Heist, Belgium (in collaboration with Gallery Delaive). 2010 “About Us”, Gallery Delaive, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. 2010 “About Us”, VACANT, Tokyo, Japan (in collaboration with Gallery Delaive). 2011 “Colours in my hand”, Kunsthal, Rotterdam, The Netherlands (in collaboration with Gallery Delaive). 2012 “Where the smell comes from”, Danubiana Meulensteen Art Museum, Bratislava, Slovakia (in collaboration with Gallery Delaive). 2014 “Never Ending Love Letter”, Gallery Target, Tokyo, Japan. 2015 Open Studio, Swatch Art Pavilion, Biennale di Venezia, Venice, Italy (in collaboration with Gallery Delaive). 2015 “Lumpy Fluffy Splatter”, Gallery Trax, Yamanashi, Japan. 2016 “Sealed Reminiscence”, Gallery Delaive, Amsterdam, Netherlands. 2017 “Obscura”, Gallery Target, Tokyo, Japan. 2018 “Bright wind, another step”, Gallery Delaive, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. 2018 “Perpetual Colors”, Phillips, Hong Kong, China (in collaboration with Gallery Delaive). 2019 “Fumble in colors, tiny discoveries”, Museum Jan, Amstelveen, The Netherlands (in collaboration with Gallery Delaive) 2020 “Magic Hand”, Chiba Prefectural Museum of Art, Japan. 2021 “Phantom Thief Stray Junkie”, Gallery Trax, Yamanashi, Japan. 2021 “Born in the Fluffy Journey”, König Galerie, Berlin, Germany (in collaboration with Gallery Delaive) 2022 “Burrow & Pop Up”, Gallery Delaive, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. 2022 “Ayako Rokkaku. Works from 2006-2022”. Gallery Delaive, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. 2023 “Close to your Treasure”. Long museum, Shanghai, China. 2023 “Dreams in my hand”, Hangaram Arts Center Museum, Seoul, South-Korea (in collaboration with Delaive). 2024 Place C, Gyeongju, South Korea (in collaboration with Delaive). SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2006 Tokyo Girls Collection, Yoyogi Taikukan, Tokyo, Japan. 2006 Tokyo GG Night, Hotel Claska, Tokyo, Japan. 2010 “Manga in Amsterdam”, Willem Kerseboom gallery, Amsterdam, The Netherlands (in collaboration with Gallery Delaive). 2011 Swatch Art Peace Hotel, Shanghai, China (in collaboration with Gallery Delaive). 2012 Swatch Art Peace Hotel, Shanghai, China (in collaboration with Gallery Delaive). 2012 Pop Art Accrochage, Fluegel-Roncak Gallery, Nuremberg, Germany. 2014 Museum Jan, Amstelveen, The Netherlands (in collaboration with Gallery Delaive). 146

2014 “Faces and Traces”, The Swatch Art Peace Hotel, Shanghai (in collaboration with Gallery Delaive) 2015 Swatch loves Art, Hong Kong (in collaboration with Gallery Delaive) 2017 “Cool Japan”, Volkenkundig Museum Leiden, The Netherlands 2017 Cat Love. Nine lives in the art, Kunsthal Rotterdam 2018 “25th Anniversary in Gallery Trax vol.I”, Gallery Trax, Yamanashi, Japan 2020 “Oketa Collection: A new decade, Spiral Garden, Tokyo, Japan ART FAIRS 2006 GEISAI #9, Tokyo Big Sight, Tokyo, Japan. 2006 Art Basel Volta Show02, Basel, Switzerland (group). 2006 GEISAI #10, Tokyo Big Sight, Tokyo, Japan. 2006 Nada Art Fair, The Ice Palace, Miami, USA. 2007 Art Cologne, Cologne, Germany (Gallery Delaive). 2007 Hotel Agnes Art Fair, Tokyo, Japan. 2007 Art Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands (Gallery Delaive). 2007 Shanghai Art Fair, Shanghai, China (Gallery Delaive). 2007 Art Singapore, Singapore (Gallery Delaive). 2008 Art Fair Tokyo: Tokyo international Forum, Tokyo, Japan (solo). 2008 Art Taipei, Taiwan, (Gallery Delaive). 2008 Art Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands (Gallery Delaive). 2008 Art Asia Fair, Miami, USA, (Gallery Delaive). 2009 Art Fair Tokyo: Tokyo international Forum, Tokyo, Japan (Gallery Delaive) (solo). 2009 TEFAF, Maastricht, The Netherlands, (Gallery Delaive). 2009 Affordable Art Fair Amsterdam, The Netherlands (Gallery Delaive). 2009 Art Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, (Gallery Delaive) (solo). 2010 TEFAF, Maastricht, The Netherlands, (Gallery Delaive). 2010 Art Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands, (Gallery Delaive). 2010 Scope Basel, Basel, Switzerland, (Gallery Delaive). 2011 Art Cologne, Cologne, Germany, (Gallery Delaive). 2011 TEFAF, Maastricht, The Netherlands, (Gallery Delaive). 2012 TEFAF, Maastricht, The Netherlands, (Gallery Delaive). 2012 Art Paris, Paris, France, (Gallery Delaive). 2012 Art Cologne, Cologne, Germany, (Gallery Delaive). 2013 TEFAF, Maastricht, The Netherlands, (Gallery Delaive). 2013 Art Miami, Miami, USA, (Gallery Delaive). 2013 Affordable Art Fair, Hong Kong (Gallery Delaive). 2014 TEFAF, Maastricht, The Netherlands, (Gallery Delaive). 2014 Art Miami, Miami, USA, (Gallery Delaive). 2015 TEFAF, Maastricht, The Netherlands, (Gallery Delaive). 2015 Art Miami, Miami, USA, (Gallery Delaive). 2016 TEFAF, Maastricht, The Netherlands, (Gallery Delaive). 2016 Art New York, New York, USA, (Gallery Delaive). 2017 TEFAF, Maastricht, The Netherlands, (Gallery Delaive). 2017 Art Fair Tokyo 2017, Tokyo, Japan. 2018 TEFAF, Maastricht, The Netherlands, (Gallery Delaive). 2018 KunstRAI, Amsterdam, The Netherlands (Gallery Delaive). 2018 ComplexCon, Los Angeles, USA, (Gallery Delaive) (solo). 2019 KunstRAI, Amsterdam, The Netherlands (Gallery Delaive). 2019 Art Miami, Miami, USA, (Gallery Delaive). 2020 VOLTA, New York, USA, (Gallery Delaive). 2023 Kiaf, Seoul, South-Korea, (Gallery Delaive)

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MUSEUM COLLECTIONS Oketa Collection, Japan Powerlong Art Museum, Shanghai, China The Museum of Contemporary Art, Karuiuzawa, Nagano Prefecture, Japan Sehwa Museum of Art / Sehwa Art and Culture Foundation, Seoul, South Korea Gunma Museum of Art, Tatebayashi, Japan Voorlinden Museum, Wassenaar, The Netherlands Danubiana Meulensteen Art Museum, Bratislava, Slovak Republic PUBLICATIONS 2007 “Walkin’ Around Clouds”, Gallery Delaive, Exhibition Catalogue 2007 “Ayako Rokkaku”, Galerie Moderne Silkeborg, Exhibition Catalogue 2009 “Amsterdam-Tokyo”, Gallery Delaive, Exhibition Catalogue 2011 “About Us”, Contrarede, Picture Book and DVD 2011 “Colours in My Hand”, Kunsthal Museum Rotterdam, Exhibition Catalogue 2012 “Where the Smell Comes from”, Danubiana Meulensteen Art Museum, Exhibition C atalogue 2018 “Bright wind, another step”, Gallery Delaive, Exhibition Catalogue 2019 “Fumble in colors, tiny discoveries”, Gallery Delaive, Exhibition Catalogue 2020 “Magic Hand”, Chiba Prefectural Museum of Art, Exhibition Catalogue

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Ayako Rokkaku with Takashi Murakami and Nico Delaive at ‘Complexcon’, Los Angeles, USA, 2018.

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Ayako Rokkaku at “Fumble in colors, tiny discoveries”, Museum Jan, Amstelveen, The Netherlands, 2019.

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Ayako Rokkaku live painting at the art fair ‘Art Amsterdam’, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 2009. 151

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Live painting sessions during the opening in Gallery Delaive in February 2007

Colofon Copyright

Gallery Delaive, Amsterdam Nico Delaive Ayako Rokkaku

Published by

Delaive, Amsterdam

Printed & Lithographs

Graphius, Gent, Belgium

Lay-out

Niki Delaive

Text

Arjen Ribbens

Translation

Robin Pascoe

Special thanks

Kaikai Kiki Gallery Takashi Murakami

Gallery Delaive Spiegelgracht 23 1017 JP Amsterdam The Netherlands Tel: +31-(0)20 6259087 / +31 (0) 6 53222087 info@delaive.com - www.gallerydelaive.com November 2023

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