“archi + anarchy II II II”
I visited “archi + anarchy II II II,” a group exhibition featuring artists represented by URANO.
Among the works on view, the drawings by Noriyuki Konishi struck me as especially compelling.
Participating Artists
Takahiro Iwasaki (born 1975 in Hiroshima)
Using everyday objects such as toothbrushes, towels, paperback bookmarks, and duct tape, he creates delicate, ephemeral landscapes. By transforming familiar household items into another kind of image, he unsettles our habitual points of view. Last year his solo presentation at the Japan Pavilion of the 57th Venice Biennale earned wide acclaim, and he received the Minister of Education Award for New Artists (Fine Arts) at the Japan Art Academy Prize for Fine Arts. He also participates in “A Roundabout Way to the Near — Japan-Cuba Contemporary Art Exhibition,” opening at Spiral Garden from June 6. In this exhibition, he presents mainly works never before shown in Japan.
https://art-on.jp/takahiro-iwasaki-2017/
Hiroyuki Oki (born 1964 in Tokyo)
Traveling with camera in hand across Japan and abroad, he captures this world we live in through philosophical language born of movement and everyday thought, along with continuous images layered by means such as overlap, continually attempting to update and connect. In recent years he has participated in “Rainbow Caravansary — Aichi Triennale 2016,” and his video and film works have just been added to the collection of M+ in Hong Kong. In this exhibition, he presents the latest installment of his “May” series, filmed every May since 2004.
Noriyuki Konishi (born 1980 in Hiroshima)
Reflecting on “the family” as the smallest unit of the human “herd,” he depicts the relationships between figures and the balance between space and body with meticulous thought, rendered through bold, freely swelling brushstrokes and vivid, deep colors. In 2016 he was nominated as a finalist for the Prudential Eye Awards, and in 2017 he participated in “Yokohama Triennale 2017 — Islands, Constellations and Galapagos” and in “Collection Exhibition 2: Diary” (2017) at the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, while also holding a large-scale solo exhibition at gallery AIKE in Shanghai — steadily broadening the scope of his activities. In this exhibition, he presents the major works shown at the “Yokohama Triennale 2017” along with new works.
Tadasu Takamine (born 1968 in Kagoshima)
In addition to video installations, photography, and sculpture, in recent years he has also directed and staged his own theatrical works. Using his own body, he critically and ironically renders visible the latent oppression and control exerted by social systems and collective consciousness. He participates in “A Roundabout Way to the Near — Japan-Cuba Contemporary Art Exhibition,” opening at Spiral Garden from June 6. His work “Japan Syndrome — Mito Version” was just added to the KADIST collection. In this exhibition he presents new works first shown in “Konnichiwa Art as Technology” (2017, Sendai Mediatheque).
Tatzu Nishi (born 1960 in Aichi)
By constructing rooms around city monuments and street lamps and running them as living rooms or even functioning hotels, he transforms the public into the private, dismantling everyday assumptions and giving viewers a powerful jolt. In recognition of last year’s “Tatzu Nishi in Beppu” and other large-scale exhibitions across Japan, he received the Minister of Education Award (Fine Arts) at the Japan Art Academy Prize for Fine Arts. He also participates in “CHILDHOOD Another banana day for the dream-fish,” opening at Palais de Tokyo from June 22. In this exhibition, he shows new works first presented in “‘Going That Far?’ Grand Projects” (2017, 21_21 DESIGN SIGHT).
Yuichi Yokoyama (born 1967 in Miyazaki)
Known for his “neo-manga,” marked by lines full of speed, onomatopoeia, an unbroken flow of time, and singular characters, his books have been translated and published in many countries including Japan, France, the United States, Italy, Spain, and Russia. From June 16, he opens a two-person show with a French artist at Galerie Anne Barrault in Paris. From June 22, he also participates in “CHILDHOOD Another banana day for the dream-fish” at Palais de Tokyo. In this exhibition, he presents rare early figurative drawings.
