This Is Not Erotic: Kaoruko’s Girl Friends’ Bliss

Japan’s former teen pop star Kaoruko’s large scale paintings glimpse into the complex worlds of female friendships and the identity of the contemporary Japanese woman. Kaoruko strips her girls down to their underwear… not to titillate you, but to establish intimacy that works against traditional culture’s moratorium on such violations of “pristine modesty.”

Combining stylistic allusions to the Ukiyo-e ‘floating world’ prints of the Edo period and the modern private domestic activity — exercise, hair braiding, foot stroking, joint crawling… Stop gawking, perverts. “Aromako,” Kaoruko, Nov 17 – Jan 7, Mike Weiss Gallery, NYC