Kei Endo is an accomplished architect and draughtswoman who got her start by merging her hobbies of travelling and art: she began sharing her detailed, architectural survey drawings of the hotel rooms she stayed at. This wonderful side-hustle eventually blossomed into a career. And Endo’s repertoire expanded from hotel rooms to hotel amenities, meals, desserts and all the small delights around her. Now, for the first time, she’s staging an exhibition of old a new works.
In the world of architecture, survey drawings and measurements are both basic skills, but the combination of the two are rather rare. Kei Endo’s unique cross-sections and birds-eye views of hotel rooms, amenities and desserts take the concept of architectural diagrams a step further to render a true understanding of the space around her.
Architects have long used survey drawings and measurements to understand how space will be experienced, explains Endo. But in this day and age, when 3D scans and high-resolution photos have largely erased the act of hand-measuring, “experiencing space” has become truly rare. It is only when you try to draw that you realize you have not seen anything. To borrow from art critic John Berger’s signature mixture of profundity and common sense, “for the artist, drawing is discovery.”
If you would like to experience Kei Endo’s renderings for yourself, her first solo exhibition titled MEASURE, is on display at the koban-turned-art gallery Creative Hub Ueno es. If you’ve never been, it’s a unique little hole in the wall, connected to Ueno Station, aimed at showcasing the work of students and younger artists. Kei Endo’s exhibition, which is comprised over over 150 old and new works, is up from Feb. 25 – March 23, 2025.
