Japanese fashion brand Onitsuka Tiger continues to present a contemporary collection that combines fashion with sports, and heritage with innovation.
For Filipino fans of Onitsuka Tiger, the upcoming FLARE, a group exhibition in London that features works by Kengo Kito, Daisuke Ohba, and Kohei Nawa, promises to be an exciting fusion of art and fashion, showcasing the brand’s innovative spirit. As the global Onitsuka community continues to grow, this event offers a unique opportunity to see how the iconic Japanese brand collaborates with renowned artists to push the boundaries of creativity. With 27 new works, including the stunning PixCell series made from Onitsuka Tiger sneakers, this exhibition is a must-watch for those following the intersection of fashion, culture, and art.
Intertwining multifarious materials, approaches, and concepts, FLARE presents works of a cohesive vision that explore the contingencies of contemporary existence as well as grand narratives that harken back to the universe’s origins. The paintings, sculptures, and installations reflect dynamic interplays of space, time, and light, catapulting viewers into a new dimension charged with both paradox and possibility.
In May 2024, during the artists’ conceptualization of the current exhibition, a historical solar flare occurred, attracting great attention following the observation of auroras around the world. Serendipitously, a few years prior, they had jointly presented an exhibition titled Taiyo (“Sun”). In contemplating these connections, Kohei Nawa proposed the title FLARE for the current exhibition as an homage to the celestial spectacle as well as the artists’ interconnected creative journeys. Much like the sun, which channels ancient energies to illuminate the future, FLARE addresses the essence and potential of our era, both present and future.
Into Kengo Kito’s works
Kengo Kito’s celebrated “Hula Hoop” installations and paintings transform circles into infinitely connected lines that in turn become larger intersecting circles—a potent metaphor for interconnectedness. The works explore the relationship between the circle and the line, and fullness and the void, referencing traditional Zen Buddhist philosophy where the circle is a form that is both perfectly whole and empty, while a straight line symbolizes a spiritual path forward. For the current exhibition, Kito has chosen to use black tubes instead of colorful tubes to fill the space. This is the first time Kito is using only black tubes, with the powerful black lines echoing the energy and force of Onitsuka Tiger stripes.
Into Daihsuke Ohba’s works
Bathed in light and radiate color diffused in all directions, Daisuke Ohba’s mesmerizing paintings establish the pictorial field as a new dimension where time and space intersect. In Ohba’s words: “The rainbow created from two vanishing points is created by the relationship between light, the viewer, and the painting. They fuse together to become a mosaic, which encompasses the spectrum of cultures of humanity.” Within this liminal mosaic of existence, viewers witness the fleeting ephemerality of an uncertain world.
Into Kohei Nawa’s works
Kohei Nawa encapsulates the vast breadth and depth of the exhibition through works that range from the 2D to the 3D. Works from Moment and Red Code materialise the presence of digital signals and noise omnipresent in information space as well as the universe. Anchoring the exhibition are Nawa’s iconic PixCell, Prism, and Trans series that utilize Onitsuka Tiger sneakers. Shoes, which relate to the verticality of the figure, ground the body to the earth and connect human beings with the city, signify the starting point of actions and movements.
Onitsuka Tiger’s FLARE
As the title FLARE suggests, this exhibition focuses on the various phases of the circular form and the amorphous energies, both literal and metaphorical, exuding from the orb-like structures. These include celestial bodies, mass-produced products, polarized colors, self-referential and infinitely repeating illusions, as well as swirling traces of drawings, clusters of dots, and even viewers’ own eyeballs as they perceive these elements. As viewers navigate through the display, they redefine their own footing as the foundation that links them to the world. With both feet planted firmly on the most familiar orb of all, the Earth, it invites the viewers to fully immerse themselves in the resounding flares emanating from the works in the exhibition.
