Kenya Hara: Graphic Design from Japan

The first solo exhibition by one of Japan's most internationally acclaimed designers, Kenya Hara.

Hara has been associated with the Nippon Design Center since 1993, within which he runs his own studio/think-tank Hara Design Institute. He is the creator of many international exhibitions, the creative director of MUJI and the author of books combining design with a philosophy of life. Treating design as a universal wisdom gathered from society, he plans and realises various communication-based projects.

The exhibition presents a selection of posters and books chosen by the artist, which form the core of the exhibition, including projects prepared especially for the exhibition in Poznań. They are accompanied by other publishing projects, i.e. advertising magazines and journals, designed since the beginning of his professional activity. In almost all of his works, the author attaches great importance to the cultural tradition of his country, which he skilfully transposes into the modern language of posters and other areas of design. Also on show are advertising designs and visual identities for MUJI, as well as examples of packaging for other Japanese companies. Also on display is the author's exhibition Neo Prrehistoria 100 Verbi (Neo-Prehistory 100 Verb), prepared together with Andrea Branzi for the XXI International Triennale in Milan in 2016. It will also be possible to discover Hara's latest project High Resolution Tour, related to tourism considered from an individual perspective, in which the author—referring to personal experiences—seeks a broader view of his own country's rich heritage and future.

The works in the exhibition are accompanied by commentaries by the author. Particularly important are Hara's original design sketches, providing an opportunity to look at the designer's work from a workshop perspective.