Paris, France — These are joyful, uplifting works, something we can all use a dose of right now. Colorful critters sometimes riding on the crest of a wave have come to Paris via Japan with the chibi-chans of Elena. Her chibi-chans are small fictional creatures which she first conceived in her childhood. Chibi is a Japanese word meaning a small person, baby or child. Elena’s little people are seemingly in constant motion and the artist pays tribute to the great Japanese artist Hokusai with her various paintings of Mount Fuji and the Great Wave off Kanagawa, a woodblock print and perhaps the best known of Hokusai’s works. 

These are beings in a parallel universe representing a utopia, a wonderful universe where we would all like to be. And we would also like to be where the show is being held in the fantastic Japanese Michelin-listed restaurant Le Clos Y tucked away in the Montparnasse neighborhood, one of the quintessential artists neighborhoods of Paris. Le Clos Y serves up Japanese food infused with French features at its finest. There is even a special Elena menu for dinner priced at 49 euros (excluding drinks), and it is clearly one of the best gourmet values in town during the duration of the exhibition. 

Elena was born in Madrid in 1998 and grew up in Japan. Today she lives in Tokyo. Particularly interested in the Japanese cultural tradition of the kimono, she worked in the fashion industry after graduating from the Gakushuin Women’s College in Tokyo.  In 2022, she left the fashion industry to devote herself entirely to her art. Her joyful fabulous art. Special to the Gourmet Gazette. Exhibition until October 22nd, 2pm until 7pm. Le Clos Y, 27 avenue du Maine, 75015 Paris