Studio Visit with Takanosuke Yasui
I had the opportunity to visit the studio of Takanosuke Yasui.
The visit took place in mid-February, just before his first solo exhibition “OK Plastic.”
Located in the Nippori area of Arakawa Ward, the studio is inside a detached house.
Studio Visit in February 2019
This was actually the second time I had visited Yasui’s studio. The previous visit was exactly one year earlier, in February 2019. I was struck by how much the scene had changed since then.
First, let me look back briefly at what it was like then.
Studio Visit in February 2020
Coming just before his first solo exhibition, many works — mainly those to be exhibited — were on display, and I was able to view a densely packed space that included large-scale pieces.
In autumn 2019, Takanosuke Yasui spent about a month traveling in Europe, where he had time to encounter a great deal of European art. Among them, the works and historical background of Camille Claudel, a disciple of Rodin, particularly moved him, and became the central axis for the works he created for his first solo exhibition.
This exhibition presents works focused on “the sculptor Camille Claudel,” “plasticity,” and “semi-transparent sculpture.”
Yasui graduated from the sculpture department of Tokyo University of the Arts, but compared to before, I felt that flat, two-dimensional works occupy much of his current output.
His first solo exhibition, “OK Plastic,” takes its title from Radiohead’s masterpiece album “OK Computer.” As it happens, the concurrently held solo exhibition of Yukimasa Ida — Yasui’s senior at Tokyo University of the Arts — also uses a title borrowed from the same band’s album.
I look forward to seeing the resounding notes that Takanosuke Yasui will play in his first solo exhibition.
First Solo Exhibition — Overview
Takanosuke Yasui
OK Plastic
Venue: MEDEL GALLERY SHU
Dates: Monday, February 17, 2020 – Sunday, February 23, 2020
Hours: 11:00 – 19:00 (until 17:00 on the final day)
