From June 10th (Wednesday Isetan Shinjuku Store, Men's Building 2nd floor, Men's Creators' "ART UP" will host a joint exhibition, "BETTER THAN BEFORE BREAKING," by popular artist Ryohei Sasaki, who is based in Fukuoka Prefecture, and MAISON EUREKA, a rising brand that is attracting attention from within and outside the industry, mainly in women's wear. This will be the first full-scale collaboration between the two. We spoke with Mr. Sasaki and MAISON EUREKA's designer, Yurika Nakatsu, about a wide range of topics, including how they met, their commitment to their work, the unique appeal of this exhibition, and their future visions as artists.

A fateful collaboration made possible through a friend of a friend.

—So, how did the two of you meet in the first place?

Nakatsu : We originally had a mutual friend, and it was through that friend that we met. When I used to live in London, the husband of a friend of mine was from Fukuoka Prefecture, the same prefecture as me. And Sasaki is also from Fukuoka, and that friend's husband happened to be a friend of Sasaki's, and he brought him to my exhibition.

Sasaki : I had heard through a friend that Yurika was from Fukuoka and made clothes, but I didn't have any information about what kind of clothes she made, so I went to her exhibition. When I actually went there, I was surprised to see that she had a really impressive exhibition (laughs). When I met her there, I told her that I was an artist myself, but I wasn't able to show her any specific work, so I asked Yurika to arrange another meeting, and that's when I showed her my work compiled into a zine (self-published work).

Nakatsu : Ms. Sasaki uses a glass pen to create her artwork, and from my perspective, she can do anything. She has a great sense of style, and can handle almost any style of painting to a certain extent. But because she is so versatile and can do anything, it seems like she is experimenting and exploring while incorporating her own style into her work.

—In that sense, it seems like we'll be able to make all sorts of requests to Sasaki-san in the future.

Nakatsu : That's true (laughs). But I think there are many people who are captivated by Sasaki's style (of work), and I don't think it's good for those around him to be too insistent on doing this and that (laughs).

--What do you think of that, Sasaki-san?

Sasaki : I'm somewhat aware of it (laughs). I'm just like everyone else, but I like being relied upon, and each time I improve my skills to meet those expectations, I feel like the range of my work is expanding significantly. On the other hand, there are times when I wonder, "What do I really want to do?" I think I need to focus more on the kind of production I truly want to do.

—How did you go about the production process for this collaboration?

Nakatsu : I asked her to create textiles and patterns, and I also told her that I liked the style of the illustrations drawn with a glass pen, like the ones I saw in a zine she showed me before. We discussed the specifics of the patterns using LINE calls and Slack. Ms. Sasaki understood my preferred style in her own way, and then she delved deeper into it to create design patterns. We had quite a few meetings.

Sasaki : At first, I proposed patterns that I had drawn myself using glass pens and ink. I also added some ideas that I had gathered personally from various sources. What Yurika picked up on was a collage of things I had found through my own research. From there, I think things progressed quite smoothly.