conceptual art | toothpicnations

I have always been fascinated by Japanese American modernist artist, designer and landscape architect Isamu Noguchi‘s work, yet I have never visited his museum in New York even though I used to live there. I have seen his work at MOMA and at other art institutions in America, but oddly enough, I have rarely seen his work being shown outside of America. Hence, I was quite excited about his exhibition in Hong Kong before my visit.

The ‘Noguchi for Danh Vo: Counterpoint‘ at M+ Pavilion exhibition is based on an ongoing conversation between two artists who never met: Isamu Noguchi (1904–1988) and the contemporary Vietnamese Danish artist Danh Vo (born 1975). Vo, who has in recent years explored and researched Noguchi’s life and art, and has included Noguchi’s work in his installations with increasing frequency. This exhibition shed light on each artist’s protean body of work.

Occupying the main exhibition space were Noguchi‘s sculptures, furniture, lighting and worksheets. Noguchi‘s biomorphic sculptures remind me very much of another artist from the same period: Barbara Hepworth. Yet he was also a brilliant designer and landscape architect; his iconic coffee table designed in 1944 is still in production (now by Herman Miller/Vitra) after more than seven decades. Another classic design series are his Akari Light Sculptures, inspired by his trip to Gifu in Japan where it is famous for its manufacture of paper parasols and lanterns. Over the years, he created a total of more than 100 models, consisting of table, floor and ceiling lamps ranging in size from 24 to 290 cm.

In the middle of the room, there was a Chinese-style pavilion Untitled (Structure for Akari PL2) designed by Vo to hang Noguchi‘s paper lamp sculptures, and for visitors to rest. It blended extremely well with Noguchi‘s works.

Outside of the building were a few cargo containers where Vo‘s works were exhibited. Like Noguchi, Vo‘s life was shaped and influenced by Eastern and Western cultures. Due to his refugee background, Vo often addresses the issues of history, identity and belonging in his work. His conceptual works often weave archival fragments together and personal references. He also doesn’t believe in providing explanatory material, hence, it’s up to the visitors to interpret his work. Last year, Vo held a sold exhibition at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, so he is undoubtedly one of the most prominent Asian artists working today.

Danh Vo’s conceptual art work

Henry Moore Institute, Leeds

In July, I attended a talk on Japanese conceptual artist Jiro Takamatsu (1936-98), and the talk triggered my interest in the artist’s works. The talk was an introduction to the artist’s first solo exhibition outside of his home country of Japan, and it given by Takamatsu‘s Estate representative Yumiko Chiba and exhibition curator Lisa Le Feuvre.

Takamatsu formed the short-lived postwar avant-garde group Hi-Red Center with two other artists from1963 to 64. Then he became a key member of the movement, Mono-ha (School of Things) from 1968 to 1975. The movement sought to ‘reveal the world as it is,’ and engaged the world through gesture, action, process, and experimentation, rather than formal studio-art methods or finished artworks. Takamatsu is especially renowned for his shadows paintings of human figures on walls.

Slides from the talk on Jiro Takamatsu in London

Since I have long wanted to visit the Hepworth Gallery and Yorkshire Sculpture Park, I decided to make a 2-day art trip up north to visit the three art venues within the Yorkshire sculpture triangle.

Jiro Takamatsu: The Temperature of Sculpture exhibition showcases over seventy sculptures, drawings and documents loaned from collections in Japan, USA and Europe, focusing on works from the early 1960s to the late 1970s.

The exhibition consists of only 4 rooms, and in some ways, I was slightly disappointed by the small scale, the lack of historical context and in-depth information on his works in relation to post-war Japan.

Nonetheless, there are some intriguing works to be found here, including ‘Chairs and the Table in Perspective’ (1966) and ‘Oneness of Cedar‘ (1970). Takamatsu also liked to use found objects, such as bottles, cloth, string, stones to challenge people’s perception of everyday things; and even though he was largely influenced by Western Modernism, Eastern philosophy and Japanese aesthetics (wabi sabi) is quite discernible in his works.

Personally, I found the video (near the stairs outside of the exhibition area) on the artist quite informative, as it reveals his thinking and working processes that the exhibition itself lacks. I think that visitors would benefit more if the exhibition provided more information on the political and economical climate of Japan at that period so that they could understand the pertinence of this artist and his influence on the contemporary Japanese art scene.

Jiro Takamatsu: The Temperature of Sculpture (13 July – 22 October 2017) at the Henry Moore Institute, 74 The Headrow, Leeds, LS1 3AH.

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Tag Archives: conceptual art

Noguchi for Danh Vo: Counterpoint at M+ Pavilion, Hong Kong

Art in Yorkshire: Jiro Takamatsu at the Henry Moore Institute