Takahiro Iwasaki “Layer and Folding”
I visited Takahiro Iwasaki’s solo exhibition “Layer and Folding.” The venue is “GINZA ATRIUM,” a space inside Tsutaya Books located in GINZA SIX.
This appears to be Takahiro Iwasaki’s first solo exhibition since the one held at URANO in October 2017. https://art-on.jp/2017/11/takahiro-iwasaki-2017/
OUT OF DISORDER
Spread grandly through the venue are five works from the OUT OF DISORDER (Frame) series, titled
The pieces rising up through the wide venue are made largely from everyday goods, with steel towers and power lines built atop layers of black material stacked like geological strata, all enclosed within a frame.
Assembled like folding screens, the works are three-dimensional yet also carry a painterly form.
TECTONIC MODEL
Fitting for a Tsutaya Books space, the TECTONIC MODEL series is also on view.
A remarkable feat: unraveling the bookmark string (spine ribbon) of a book to assemble a crane. The works treat the books themselves as if they were buildings.
Prices for the works range from 500,000 yen to 600,000 yen. Not exactly easy to reach, but some pieces had already sold.
The well-read books seem to assert themselves through their bookmark strings.
By turning things from within daily life into artworks, Iwasaki seems to reawaken the everyday viewpoints we tend to overlook.
Slightly aside from this exhibition, when Takahiro Iwasaki appeared at PechaKucha Night held in December 2018, he personally gave a talk explaining his production process. I include it here for reference.
Summary
Showing works that present suburban landscapes right in the middle of Ginza, or turning objects we touch daily into art — there was a sharp exhilaration to it all.
Iwasaki’s style, which feels like a challenge to the perspective through which we see, has led to a global career since his participation in the Venice Biennale.
This exhibition presented ongoing series, but I very much look forward to seeing new works as well.
I look forward to his future activities.
