This year IBASHO will have a shared booth with IN-DEPENDANCE, a new gallery space in Antwerp founded by Martijn van Pieterson and Annemarie Zethof, owners of IBASHO. IN-DEPENDANCE mainly exhibits photography but will also present visual arts with a focus on materiality and craftsmanship. Unlike the Japanese-focused photography gallery IBASHO, IN-DEPENDANCE will primarily show works by Western artists. At Art Antwerp IBASHO & IN-DEPENDANCE will create a visual dialogue between their artists, thereby emphasizing the complementary nature of both galleries.

The first dialogue will take place between the Japanese artist Hideyuki Ishibashi and the French photographic artist FLORE. Both have a deep bond with nature and are masters at special printing techniques. The dialogue between the Japanese artist Norio Takasugi and the Dutch artist Vera van Almen concerns the unpredictability within the creative process. Kensuke Koike and Ingrid Dorner both manipulate photographs to create unique artworks. IBASHO’s latest Japanese ceramist find, Toru Kurokawa, will also feature in the booth. His ceramic sculptures evoke the natural formative processes of coral and plants without replicating any specific form.