Children in China may remember that when they were still kids, they learned 300 ancient poems by heart. And spring dawn written by MengHaoran was surely one of them. Now it is spring in Shanghai. At this moment of early morning in the old house on the Fuxingzhong Road, I can hear the birds singing here and there.
 

This time we are preparing a solo exhibition of Japanese artist SHIRIAGARI Kotobuki. 尻上がりin Japanese means getting better and better. The given name of the artist is 寿. Then after the negotiating with the artist, we decide to use Chinese characters 尻上寿.
 

These works look kawaii, adorable and relaxing. But after burst out laughing, if you give it a second thought, you will see that what the artist tries to express through these works is serious. 
 

The first exhibition in Shanghai is also a small-scale retrospective exhibition of the artist, through which we can have a rough idea of his entire artistic career. The original manga and works of the artist at various periods, which were created when he was a cartoonist, will be displayed in the entry hall. While his paintings will be displayed in another room with the whole room full of ink-wash paintings created by the artist on the spot. His world will fill the whole space; there’s also a room displaying his image works. 
 

The father of Japanese cartoonist Osamu TEZUKA once acknowledged that ‘this man, he can paint’. In Japanese society, he is regarded as 拙巧（ヘタウマ）and was awarded Purple Ribbon Medal. From the first manga publication「spring of Ereki」till now, altogether he published one hundred and thirty-five manga, among which Yaji san, Kita san was made into a film by the screenwriter Miyato KURO. 
 

As the cartoonist, contemporary artist and image director, though with three different identities, in his opinion, the children’s paintings are the ideal wonderland he would like to reach. Therefore sometimes he would paint with his left hand, which seldom practise painting to avoid drawing too perfect and skilled lines. 
 

As an artist, he has performed a large-scale painting performance art in Yokohama Museum of Art in 2006. And performed several times painting performance arts on the spot in various galleries and art space all over the world as well. Recently he also performed in Edo Museum and Hokusai Museum. His image works received great attention when they were displayed in group exhibition in Mori Art Museum last year. 
 

No matter what his identity is, the general character of his performance in the artistic field is kawaii and humor, which make you can’t help laughing or sniggering. 
 

I hope his first exhibition in Shanghai will make you laugh. He is like infinite space, no one knows what his next move is, but we can always expect his works.
 

Shun, spring, in the old house in Shanghai