Amid the season of intense heat waves, hanabi festivals and beach parties, it's almost natural for us local Tokyoites to look for a place to call our own refreshing after the energetic hype of summer. Comprised of a minimal representation of balance, meditation and stillness, Isao Sugiyama’s “Santuario” exhibition at Tokyo Gallery can be that sanctuary. An experience that not only soothes the body and mind, the exhibition at the same time depicts a style of art less seen in the current trend: art devoid of shock value that emphasizes calming the senses rather than on provocation. Influences come from both his European-style sculptural experience and his Japanese roots which motivate his aesthetic sense of simplicity and stillness. Graduating in 1977 from the sculpture department of Zokei University, he continued his studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Carrera, Italy. While living and working in Milan and Carrera, Sugiyama exhibited in individual and group exhibitions mainly in European countries. “Santuario” marks Sugiyama’s first solo exhibition in Tokyo in 20 years. Sugiyama's sculptures quite closely resemble the famous Greek monasteries of Meteora in miniature, with a sprinkling of Asian touches. Situated on figurative cliffs, the house-like structures, while appearing neutral in marble, can also be closely identified with modern Japanese architectural aesthetics when realized in wood, particularly in their style of organized simplicity. The lines carved on the marble base of many sculptures are also most likely intended to recreate Sugiyama's own version of Japanese stone gardens, which in addition to being aesthetically representative in its rotating circular style, also reinforce similar ideas of meditation and of immobility..... . middle of paper......this will be an essential part of staying alive. The theme is clearly represented by the contrast of the transformed house-shaped sculptures, although isolated, still representing the influences of civilization, with the untreated marble which represents nature, devoid of any civilized touch. The exhibition is filled with a feeling of peace and calm; the result of a clear combination of soft lighting that floods the entire room, a feeling of vast space due to the tiny size of the small sculptural houses, sculptural relationships between the aesthetics of marble and wood and religious references that give us mental peace. . With the absolute sense of peace that intensely drowns out all other activities once inside the small gallery space, Sugiyama's "Santuario" exhibition can truly be both a sanctuary and a very calming, yet one-of-a-kind experience. thought provoking, on a hot summer day..