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“Relation - Plant, Dandelion of Hiroshima”1995 (L), "Dandelion of Hiroshima in 1995"2024 (R) © Tatsuo Kawaguchi
Tatsuo Kawaguchi Solo exhibition “Reconsideration - Dandelion of Hiroshima”
session：2024.7.17wed - 8.24sat 13:00 - 19:00
*closed on Sun, Mon, Tue and public holidays.
*Summer holidays：2024.8.14wed - 2024.8.17sat
*Exhibition will be open on Peace Day, August 6.
venue：SNOW Contemporary
opening reception : 2024.7.17wed 17:00 - 19:00
SNOW Contemporary is pleased to announce Tatsuo Kawaguchi’s solo exhibition “Reconsideration - Dandelions of HIROSHIMA” from July 17 to August 24, 2024.
Tatsuo Kawaguchi, born in 1940 in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, works with elements such as energy, time, life, and the universe as his subjects and the “relationship” between them. He has always presented works in his unique expressions, never bound by existing media or forms of expression. For example, he has combined materials based on nature, such as plants, water, and air, with metals such as lead and iron and used heating and corrosion in the production process.
Kawaguchi began showing his works in the 1960s, and in 1965, he formed the group “i” with other artists living in Kobe. He has received international acclaim for his works exhibited at the “Between Man and Matter” exhibition (1970), the 8th Paris Biennale (1973), and the “Magiciens de la terre” exhibition at the Centre Georges Pompidou (1989), among others. In 1982, Kawaguchi began the “Relation - Seed” series. Kawaguchi initially covered plant seeds with copper, but after the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident, he began to use lead, which shields against radiation, instead of copper. In the same year as the Chernobyl accident, Kawaguchi sealed more than 170 seeds with lead in “Relation-Seed” (1986).
In the process of creating "Relation - Lead Greenhouse, Dandelions of HIROSHIMA," which was exhibited in 1995 at the Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art's "Special Exhibition for the 50th Anniversary of the Hiroshima A-bombing: AFTER HIROSHIMA－Message from Contemporary Art," Kawaguchi began to look at non-human creatures such as cats, dogs, wild birds, and flowers exposed to the atomic bombs created by humans. As a metaphor for this, Kawaguchi chose the dandelion as the motif for his work, which was familiar to everyone. “Dandelion of HIROSHIMA” was created by collecting dandelions that had survived for 50 years after the war. He then cut two lead plates into rectangular shapes to match the size of the dandelion and then sandwiched and protected the dandelion with its fluffy seeds between these two lead plates.
This exhibition will feature approximately 20 works, including “Relation-Plant, Dandelions of HIROSHIMA,” created using lead in the same period as the above works, as well as new drawings such as “Dandelions of HIROSHIMA in 1995.” We cordially invite all to this exquisite opportunity to see the “Dandelions of HIROSHIMA” series and the current state of the contemporary artist Tatsuo Kawaguchi, and we sincerely look forward to your visit.
session：2024.7.17wed - 8.24sat 13:00 - 19:00
*closed on Sun, Mon, Tue and public holidays.
*Summer holidays：2024.8.14wed - 2024.8.17sat
*Exhibition will be open on Peace Day, August 6.
venue：SNOW Contemporary
opening reception : 2024.7.17wed 17:00 - 19:00
SNOW Contemporary is pleased to announce Tatsuo Kawaguchi’s solo exhibition “Reconsideration - Dandelions of HIROSHIMA” from July 17 to August 24, 2024.
Tatsuo Kawaguchi, born in 1940 in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, works with elements such as energy, time, life, and the universe as his subjects and the “relationship” between them. He has always presented works in his unique expressions, never bound by existing media or forms of expression. For example, he has combined materials based on nature, such as plants, water, and air, with metals such as lead and iron and used heating and corrosion in the production process.
Kawaguchi began showing his works in the 1960s, and in 1965, he formed the group “i” with other artists living in Kobe. He has received international acclaim for his works exhibited at the “Between Man and Matter” exhibition (1970), the 8th Paris Biennale (1973), and the “Magiciens de la terre” exhibition at the Centre Georges Pompidou (1989), among others. In 1982, Kawaguchi began the “Relation - Seed” series. Kawaguchi initially covered plant seeds with copper, but after the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident, he began to use lead, which shields against radiation, instead of copper. In the same year as the Chernobyl accident, Kawaguchi sealed more than 170 seeds with lead in “Relation-Seed” (1986).
In the process of creating "Relation - Lead Greenhouse, Dandelions of HIROSHIMA," which was exhibited in 1995 at the Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art's "Special Exhibition for the 50th Anniversary of the Hiroshima A-bombing: AFTER HIROSHIMA－Message from Contemporary Art," Kawaguchi began to look at non-human creatures such as cats, dogs, wild birds, and flowers exposed to the atomic bombs created by humans. As a metaphor for this, Kawaguchi chose the dandelion as the motif for his work, which was familiar to everyone. “Dandelion of HIROSHIMA” was created by collecting dandelions that had survived for 50 years after the war. He then cut two lead plates into rectangular shapes to match the size of the dandelion and then sandwiched and protected the dandelion with its fluffy seeds between these two lead plates.
This exhibition will feature approximately 20 works, including “Relation-Plant, Dandelions of HIROSHIMA,” created using lead in the same period as the above works, as well as new drawings such as “Dandelions of HIROSHIMA in 1995.” We cordially invite all to this exquisite opportunity to see the “Dandelions of HIROSHIMA” series and the current state of the contemporary artist Tatsuo Kawaguchi, and we sincerely look forward to your visit.
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