Guardian Garden takes pleasure in announcing the 1st “1_WALL” Graphics Exhibition. The exhibition supersedes the earlier series of “Hitotsubo” exhibitions, which reached a landmark 30th event in spring 2008. The “1_WALL” Graphics Exhibition is part of an open competition for the right to mount a solo show at the gallery. It will feature works by six finalists after two rounds of judging: the first round focused on all entrants’ portfolios, and the second round reviewed the portfolios of the designers selected in the initial round.

The final round of judging will take place on July 9 (Thu), i.e. while the exhibition is in progress. During this round, which is open to the public, the six finalists will give presentations of their works, based on which the five judges noted below will select the Grand Prize winner. The winner’s prize is the privilege of mounting a solo show at the gallery one year later, with permission to prepare an exhibition pamphlet.

While the “Hitotsubo” series involved a single round of judging of portfolios, the addition of a second round in the “1_WALL” series demands an even greater commitment by both the entrants and the judges. We hope many visitors will be on hand to see which of the six finalists will be chosen as the new star among today’s up-and-coming graphic designers.

Exhibition Overview
Works will be shown by the 6 finalists selected after the first two rounds of judging. Selection of the Grand Prize winner will be made in a final round conducted during the show, in the presence of gallery visitors. The winner is awarded the right to hold a solo show at the gallery, with permission to prepare an exhibition pamphlet, one year later.

The six finalists
At the final judging session on July 9, Isamu Gakiya was selected as the Grand Prize winner.