Tatsuo Kawaguchi “Vertical Time, or Stairway Time”
session:2015/5/2(Sat) - 17(Sun) 12:00 - 19:00 *closed on Mondays
*5/2(Sat) [opens until 20:00]
artist talk:17:00~18:00
opening reception:18:00 ? 20:00
venue:SNOW Contemporary(XYZ collective) / 2-30-20 1F, Setagaya, Tsurumaki, Tokyo
*This exhibition will take place concurrently with Tatsuo Kawaguchi “Manuscript Paper, in the Book” (NADiff a/p/a/r/t, April 29 - May 31).
*Tatsuo Kawaguchi's monograph “Vertical Time, or Stairway Time” will also be published on the occasion of this exhibition.
SNOW Contemporary is pleased to announce Tatsuo Kawaguchi solo exhibition from March 2 to March 17, 2015.
Tatsuo Kawaguchi has been one of Japan’s leading artists in our time, who has made and exhibited his works energetically since 1960s, worked at the cutting edge until now and received appreciations from home and aboard.
Kawaguchi has constantly explored a relation between objects and objects, or objects and human beings. This relation is where concepts of time, lives, energy and other things which have limitless possibilities lie, which are invisible. By making these relations in themselves exist in his works, Kawaguchi shows vividly these concepts which are difficult to visualize. Kawaguchi says “art is an adventure of spirit” and His works inspire your senses and invite you to the new world of imagination.
In this exhibition, he will approach the concept of time in itself through using stairs as medium while reconsidering the concept of time which has been frequently focused on since “Land and Sea”, exhibited for the first time in Tokyo Biennale, 1970.
Excerpt from Tatsuo Kawaguchi "Vertical Time, or Stairway Time" (December 14th, 2014)
started writing about relationship between stairways and art, but no one knows at all whether any relation between stairways and art exist. I am not only interested in understanding stairways with its actual function of going up and down, but also would like to understand it as a sculpture, or even more broadly, as a figurative manner of art which I believe has some point to say. Obviously, I am not simply reconsidering the concept of Ready-Made here.
When you go up and down a stairway, the weight of the person moves, but we also need to remember that our sights move at the same time here. When we normally walk on a flat road, our sight moves horizontally, but going up and down hills or stairways would make our sights go through a vertical move. Moving horizontally one meter would normally result as a one meter move of sight - therefore, a one meter vertical move should accordingly shift our sights vertically also. Do horizontal and vertical sight movements simply differentiate within the manner of movement change and sight change. Such could be true in a way. However, when we speak of horizontal movements and vertical movements, I feel there is a slight difference within its relationship with the ground. A Horizontal move has a parallel relationship with the ground, however a vertical move would mean being closer or further from the ground. Also, when we think of the relationship between the ground, a horizontal move would have a horizontal time move. If so, would it be that a vertical movement would contain stairway time, such as vertical time. Likewise, I believe stairways are a perfect motif/device upon considering slight changes. Leaving its function of going up and down, a stairway could also be a sculpture to reconsider our minds, and more broadly enhance itself as art. Or perhaps, create one enabling itself as art.
session:2015/5/2(Sat) - 17(Sun) 12:00 - 19:00 *closed on Mondays
*5/2(Sat) [opens until 20:00]
artist talk:17:00~18:00
opening reception:18:00 ? 20:00
venue:SNOW Contemporary(XYZ collective) / 2-30-20 1F, Setagaya, Tsurumaki, Tokyo
*This exhibition will take place concurrently with Tatsuo Kawaguchi “Manuscript Paper, in the Book” (NADiff a/p/a/r/t, April 29 - May 31).
*Tatsuo Kawaguchi's monograph “Vertical Time, or Stairway Time” will also be published on the occasion of this exhibition.
SNOW Contemporary is pleased to announce Tatsuo Kawaguchi solo exhibition from March 2 to March 17, 2015.
Tatsuo Kawaguchi has been one of Japan’s leading artists in our time, who has made and exhibited his works energetically since 1960s, worked at the cutting edge until now and received appreciations from home and aboard.
Kawaguchi has constantly explored a relation between objects and objects, or objects and human beings. This relation is where concepts of time, lives, energy and other things which have limitless possibilities lie, which are invisible. By making these relations in themselves exist in his works, Kawaguchi shows vividly these concepts which are difficult to visualize. Kawaguchi says “art is an adventure of spirit” and His works inspire your senses and invite you to the new world of imagination.
In this exhibition, he will approach the concept of time in itself through using stairs as medium while reconsidering the concept of time which has been frequently focused on since “Land and Sea”, exhibited for the first time in Tokyo Biennale, 1970.
Excerpt from Tatsuo Kawaguchi "Vertical Time, or Stairway Time" (December 14th, 2014)
started writing about relationship between stairways and art, but no one knows at all whether any relation between stairways and art exist. I am not only interested in understanding stairways with its actual function of going up and down, but also would like to understand it as a sculpture, or even more broadly, as a figurative manner of art which I believe has some point to say. Obviously, I am not simply reconsidering the concept of Ready-Made here.
When you go up and down a stairway, the weight of the person moves, but we also need to remember that our sights move at the same time here. When we normally walk on a flat road, our sight moves horizontally, but going up and down hills or stairways would make our sights go through a vertical move. Moving horizontally one meter would normally result as a one meter move of sight - therefore, a one meter vertical move should accordingly shift our sights vertically also. Do horizontal and vertical sight movements simply differentiate within the manner of movement change and sight change. Such could be true in a way. However, when we speak of horizontal movements and vertical movements, I feel there is a slight difference within its relationship with the ground. A Horizontal move has a parallel relationship with the ground, however a vertical move would mean being closer or further from the ground. Also, when we think of the relationship between the ground, a horizontal move would have a horizontal time move. If so, would it be that a vertical movement would contain stairway time, such as vertical time. Likewise, I believe stairways are a perfect motif/device upon considering slight changes. Leaving its function of going up and down, a stairway could also be a sculpture to reconsider our minds, and more broadly enhance itself as art. Or perhaps, create one enabling itself as art.
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