February 9th - February 25th 2017 Opening Reception : February 9th 6-8pm +81 Gallery : 167 Elizabeth Street, New York, NY 10012 Hours : Wednesday - Sunday 12-7pm Plus 81 Gallery is pleased to present Kiyoshi Hamano’s works. This will be his first solo exhibition. We humans who live in developed nations are going through a mass consumption society that no one has seen before. Besides environmental energy, clothes may be a symbol for the mass consumption society. We have been raised and taught to experience satisfaction by always consuming something. Consumption has become the symbol of the rich, but as a matter of fact we know the fact that the satisfaction gained from consumption only lasts for a few moments. At the moment, fast fashion is conquering the fashion industry. This is happening because garments are not able to produce at cheap prices. Yet during the 19th century, things were made similar to the current era, such as the industrial revolution period where things were mass produced yet had cheap prices but low quality. Mass production “changes” the mindset of the consumer’s lifestyle by making them keep on buying “things” without them realizing. Buying high quality and expensive things are difficult to commit at any given time period, but the philosophy of taking good care of things, especially moments where you see the owner of the garment changing the look of the garment by distressing, painting, putting additional parts shows the aesthetic of the owner themselves, which I think is something beautiful. This time, I focused my works on the workers, and artists of each time period, and the Arts and Crafts movement in the 19th century who were against the mass production of the industrial revolution era. They wore workwear for practicality and functionality for every day work. Work wear has these design elements and because of that, It makes the people noted above want to wear them for work, making them want to take good care of the garment itself. Workwear itself is an important essential element towards productivity and creation. This is my experiment towards designing daily wear which has the elements of workwear and my general respect towards the workers. The styles I have created here are inspired by workers such as baristas, bartenders, construction workers, craftsman, painters, and messengers. Kiyoshi was born in 1986 in Fukuoka, Japan. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in Textile Design, dying and weaving, at Tokyo Zokei University (TZU), Japan. While at TZU, he thoroughly explored design along the school precepts, the philosophy of Bauhaus - essential relationship of functionality and practicability to design. Simultaneously, Kiyoshi studied dessin, painting, sculpture and photography. After graduation, Kiyoshi joined Parsons, The New School for Design in New York, aiming to widen his global perspective in fashion design. As his final project in Parsons, he won a best construction of the year 2016. Currently he is actively working on his concept development and garment creation. For additional information, please contact : info@plus81.us