MYCE is a character created by Johnny Akihito Noda. It is a mouse who lives in a magic forest. This curious mouse loves having adventures. It often eats mysterious poisonous mushrooms to achieve a psychedelic state, making its journey even more magical and interesting. In September, Quiet Gallery is excited to hold a solo exhibition for Johnny, titled “mycerium”, to present a magical kingdom where only MYCE and his friends exist.

Johnny liked to draw since he was a child. Later, he became interested in low-brow art community in his hometown, Nagoya. When he grew up, he went to California, the birthplace of low-brow art, to start a pilgrimage. He was deeply moved by the artwork of American low-brow art and pop surrealism. It inspired him a lot to start his own journey of creation. Until 2011, Johnny moved to San Francisco. This city gathers people from all over the world, including many artists. Art creations can be found everywhere, as if the whole city is constructed with artworks. Being immersed in such a strong artistic atmosphere inspires his idea and creation even more. Like the name of his studio “Weird Collections”, Johnny’s paintings are full of quirky characters created by him. Deliver with clean lines and bold burst of colour, his artworks bring out a feeling of nostalgic pictorial. It makes his works unique and highly recognizable.

This exhibition will display a series of new works. Among them, it is worth noting that Johnny has cooperated with another creative unit. They use superb skills to make Johnny’s characters into exquisite hand-crafted rugs. Each piece is unique and definitely worth collecting. In addition, there will be a series of peripheral products for sale, including vinyl toys and silkscreen prints. Vans will specially launch a Mycerium T-shirt which will be sold in limited quantities during the exhibition period.

Gallery address: B/F, Landmark Atrium, 15 Queen's Road Central Shop 1, BELOWGROUND, Central