Encounter - 邂逅 kai-koh - is an independent “OFF Exhibition” during the PARIS DESIGN WEEK September 6-15, 2018; a part of our in)(fashion showrooms during Paris Fashion Week, dedicated to showcase Japanese creators.

Koiichiro - Japanese-born - Artist-Creator - with a long history of working in the architectural world and today an avant-garde artist, focusing on painting on stage costumes, clothes, bags, furniture, and wall etc. His company’s (barracks* anonymous design gang) work takes him around Japan and Southeast Asia. He creates the art environment of new hotels, spaces and remodels old spaces, public buildings, private homes, creating bars, cafes, and stores - creating life styles that start with the art, space, fashion, interior, music, etc. His works are unique transformed spaces.

Since 2015 Kiichiro is also the producer of the yearly fair-exhibition “MACHI DÉCOR”, Osaka (https://machi-decor.com), a fair-exhibition of Life Style Creations that started back in 2013 based on the concept “art de vivre”, gathering companies and independent creators-designers from all over and more than 60,000 visitors every year. An event held together by Kiichiro’s notion, interior design, fashion, music, and art encounter - intersect each other. (http://byakari.com/news/2456)

About Kiichiro Ogawa

Born in Osaka, Japan in 1970. Kiichiro was immersed into music, especially punk, during his childhood years he was deeply influenced by Malcolm and Vivienne Westwood. Touched by the appearance of punks wearing painted skulls on black leather bickers’ jackets, being an elementary school student with no money he began drawing skulls and strong words with bleach on his jean jackets creating not only written messages but visual ones mixing the stereotype of being punk and the aesthetics of his designs. His style was already apart from that of the other surrounding children who only draw on drafting paper, Kiichiro’s rebel style lined him up to only draw on unconventional or forbidden media such clothes, bags and furniture.

His university days dedicated to his studies, and to a yacht club, and later his work as an architect and active member of that world of dead business suits, both highly restrictive environments sealed his unique creative expression, until he questioned his future and retirement, those thoughts triggered his motivation to free up his self-expression. The first step was to get rid of his suffocating suits, in that moment his childhood memories come back - painting on jackets – and he started transforming his suits by hand painting on them. Soon after those suffocating suits became the trademark of his artistic individuality, his signature, and today his hand-painting is a vital part of his interior designs, and painting on garments is today one of his most demanded products.

favorite color: Black

favorite animal: Shark

company: barracks* anonymous design gang

website: http://barracks.ooo/

instagram: https://www.instagram.com/barracks_anonymous_design_gang/?hl=ja

Most Current Interior Design Projects

Marriott - Renaissance - Taipei Shilin Hotel Five Star Hotel in Taipei opened in August 2018

In charge of all art works of VPS (vice presidential suite room) including concept design of Chiang Kai-shek and wall art of the main dining hall

https://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/tpesh-renaissance-taipei-shihlin-hotel/?scid=bb1a189a-fec3-4d19-a255-54ba596febe2

Rakuten Stay - In charge of all art works of the hotel. This Hostel specializes in art, opened in Shinsaibashi in June 2018. Also did the concept design of “ARTPOSHTELS” which based on "drink at the hotel" and "enjoy the art at the hotel", trying to bring out a change on the Japanese lifestyle in art.

https://vacation-stay.jp/contents/guest/featured-acomm/rakuten-stay/hostel/post-2456/

https://artposhtels.theshop.jp/

turn table - In charge of the project , hotel opened in Shibuya in February 2018 (a public work project in Tokushima Prefecture)

http://turntable.jp/