LA's Gallery Nucleus Hosts 1st U.S. Exhibition for SSS Artist Group

The Gallery Nucleus art gallery in Los Angeles currently features exclusive pieces from nine artists at the “SSS Re\arise” exhibition. Previously held in Tokyo and Kyoto, the exhibit drew thousands of visitors in Japan. Original artworks from Taiki, PALOW., BUNBUN, Sevnzel, ISSSAI, Mai Yoneyama, and Naji Yanagida are now available to overseas fans for the first time. Yun Ling and Zeronis, two prominent names in the games industry, also joined the exhibit as guest artists.

“This exhibition is called 'SSS Re\arise' because we want to make others realize the value of the art,” said Yuki Shimada, manager of SSS. “Triple S is a collective group of famous and popular Japanese artists. We want to know what kind of creativity can be realized together.” The group's name means Sign of Sense Studio, and one of their goals is to push the boundaries of expectations. Individually, they tackle different mediums by applying traditional techniques and bringing forth new applications to contemporary art. Although they're all primarily digital illustrators, they reimagine their style in other forms.

Taiki, whose previous works include Chain Chronicle and Fate/Grand Order, takes almost a month to complete just one piece. “It takes about 200 hours for the drawing and another 100 hours for the printing data to make it into physical art.” Three of his featured works—“Toriko,” “Enigma,” and “Casket”—were created using a technique called swissQprint. This UV printing gives the finished piece a layered texture, almost as if the work was hand-painted on canvas rather than a reproduced digital image. His other illustration, “Mimesis,” incorporates digital art with the hikibaku technique, which produces the metallic sheen on obis and kimonos by thinly slicing foil into threads.

“For me, there are similarities between client work and my personal work. When doing client work, I focus on the character's appearance on a screen. But since I decided to use UV printing for my personal artwork, I started thinking about what kind of characters would be great for this style,” said Taiki.

Mai Yoneyama, whose previous work includes Kiznaiver and Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, focused on displaying illustrations as part of interior design. Her artwork, displayed on tapestry partitions, shows various ways to present artwork through the diffusion of light. Of her three LED displays, “RAY - TWILIGHT'' combines the Monkarakami technique—used for washi paper prints—with a digital illustration to create a translucent, shoji screen door appearance.

Others, such as PALOW., stacked layers of painted acrylic to create a three-dimensional pattern, mirroring the effect of shadow boxes and an animation cel. An unusual centerpiece of the gallery was PALOW.'s “ALL EQUAL RE\TURN,” a mixed fabric ceremonial robe that boasted more form than function. The red flowers spill downwards—like blood—over the center of the cloak, contrasting against the stark white below it.

Most notably, Sevnzel's “#424D99 merch” directly acknowledges the theme of artwork and products in the world of otaku merchandise. His two oversized acrylic keyholders cheekily nod at the overabundance of mass-market anime goods. BUNBUN, who designed the light novel covers for Sword Art Online, elevates a regular anime shirt into a ceremonial object by displaying it in an intricate metal frame.

“It's not just about anime. They're really trying to push the medium,” commented Ben Zhu, founder of Gallery Nucleus. “They're creating fine art and moving into a different sphere with the type of medium they're working with.” The exhibition runs from May 27 to June 11, with a workshop on June 3 with Taiki and Sevnel. More information on the creative studio can be found here.