Shigeru Nishikawa “UNDER CONSTRUCTION OR DESTRUCTION”
We visited a solo exhibition by Shigeru Nishikawa. The venue was “Gallery OUT of PLACE” on the second floor of Arts Chiyoda 3331.
Our visit was on July 1, 2018, just after the earliest end of the rainy season on record — we slipped in under a wave of midsummer heat. It was the very last day of the exhibition — cutting it as close as possible. The artist himself was at the venue and we were able to speak with him.
Over the past several years, Nishikawa has been depicting, with his distinctive brushstrokes and color palette, buildings covered in sheeting for construction (or demolition) that suddenly appear in cities and towns.
This time, he confronts the “in-progress urban landscape” of Hong Kong and Tokyo — cities that are being renewed right at this very moment. Based on Nishikawa’s meticulous observational eye, please pay close attention to the dense space-time of his oil paintings.——————————————
Artist statement
What I am currently working on is the appearance of the city formed by clusters of buildings under construction, and the construction sites of buildings that could become urban landmarks.
In particular, the clusters of high-rise buildings under construction in Hong Kong, which I photographed last year, made a strong impression with their structure and color, along with the vitality of the streets. I am also endlessly fascinated by Tokyo, which is being reborn at breakneck pace toward 2020.
Something that was originally there is destroyed and something else is newly built. The city expands by continuously renewing itself. The vertical renewal of building clusters pushes the city horizontally outward.
I hope that my expressive activity on the canvas will come to encompass this ever-transforming world and the human activity within it.
Text: Shigeru Nishikawa
The gallery, cut off from the sweltering outside air, displayed buildings covered in construction (or demolition) sheeting rendered with his distinctive technique. The buildings adopted as motifs range from massive structures like Shibuya Hikarie to houses and apartment buildings around the city.
The background, painstakingly painted with a brush, and the buildings, constructed with a painting knife, are well balanced within each canvas.
The twin-tower piece used on the DM had a powerful presence.
The building on the left is Shibuya Hikarie, and the one on the right is a Hong Kong high-rise, we were told.
Works were also densely displayed in the office area at the back of the venue.
The touch of the works is at once delicate and wild — we were overwhelmed by the skill and sensibility.
The only regret was that the works we liked most were too big — sizes that pose a considerable hurdle for the average household. Definitely someone to watch going forward.
