大賞
あわいの香/川鍋桃奈

第三回 Mr. & Mrs. Abe Arts & Culture Prize
大賞受賞作品
作品講評
梅という伝統的なモチーフを「図像」としてなぞる行為から解放し、その本質である「気配」へと導いた点に、深い洞察を感じます。形を消し、目に見えない香りを可視化しようとしたそのアプローチは、本賞の求める「再解釈」を高い次元で体現しています。
古来、梅は見た目以上にその香りが楽しまれてきた花であり、冬の終わりに春の予感を運ぶ特別な存在でした。日本において香りは単に「嗅ぐ」ものではなく、心でその物語を「聞く(聞香)」ものとされます。本作は、あえて梅の具象を抹消することで、観る者に不在の香りを「聞かせる」という転回を目指している点が非常にユニークです。
タイトルに冠された「あわい」とは、冬と春の境界であり、香りが立ち上がる瞬間の〈間(ま)〉を指しています。背景に混じるわずかな青みは冬の残滓を、滲むようなピンクは春の体温を想起させ、観る者の感覚を「視覚」から「嗅覚」や「触覚」へと誘います。中央に浮かぶ球体は、形を持たない香りを包み込む柔らかな膜のようであり、余白へと溶けていく色の階調は、張り詰めた、かつ温かな空気の揺らぎを精緻に捉えています。
視覚を入り口にしながら、観る者の記憶や身体感覚を呼び覚ますこの表現は、梅というモチーフを「体験」へと変換させました。余計な要素を削ぎ落とした構成の中に、形を超えた梅の本質を宿した本作は、本賞が目指す「モダナイゼーション」への極めて現代的な回答であり、大賞にふさわしい素晴らしい作品です。
Our Story
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The Brand’s Question and Philosophy
"Be the Origin of Meaning."
This phrase forms the core of Mr. & Mrs. Abe and serves as a guiding principle for creation.
Has "meaning" been outsourced to brands, prices, others, or overseas standards of value?
Here, jewelry is not mere decoration. It is a medium of thought.
Throughout history, jewelry has evolved from adornment to storytelling, and now, to questioning.
Our pieces are ambassadors of critical thought, created to provoke reflection, memory, and cultural dialogue.
Inspired by the legendary "Tobiume" (Flying Plum) of Dazaifu, and the intimate bonds shared with family and pets,
each piece embodies personal memory and cultural history.
They ask: "What does permanence mean?" "What does it mean to own beauty?"
We are a family-run maison, guided not by marketing but by careful craft and quiet dialogue.
Using durable materials such as K18 gold, platinum, and lab-grown diamonds,
our creations are designed to last beyond a lifetime and connect generations.
Through the Mr. & Mrs. Abe Art & Culture Prize,
we invite thinkers and artists to join conversations about icons, belonging, and meaning.
Mr. & Mrs. Abe is not simply a brand, but a philosophy you wear.
For those who seek culture, not status; meaning, not mimicry.
There is no need to follow hierarchies defined by others.
Jewelry is not simply metal that reflects light.
It is an expression of what you believe and what you choose to carry.
Wearing Mr. & Mrs. Abe means choosing to live the question,
to walk alongside symbols that ask, challenge, and remember.
We are not a maison that pursues “top-of-mind” awareness through advertising budgets.
We believe beauty and value are not imposed, but awaken from within.
Cultural presence does not reside in numbers, but in memory.
You are not a passive consumer of meaning.
You are its origin.
Do not be swayed by price hierarchies or the echo of brands.
Trust the depth of your own questions and the clarity of what you feel.
Be the Origin of Meaning.
Mr. & Mrs. Abe