NANKOKU HIDAI

Through his conception of the ‘Art of the Line’, Nankoku Hidai shocked the art world, as well as his fellow Japanese calligraphers. Described as the ‘New Abstract Style’ by the San Francisco Sunday Chronicle, his works earned great acclaim and were subsequently acquired by prominent collectors and highly established institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art, New York.

Despite these accomplishments, Hidai’s achievements fail to place themselves within the framework of art history. With this year marking 110 years since his birth, the exhibition seeks to revisit and unravel the artist’s ‘Art of the Line’ with the hopes of articulating and sharing his talents and accomplishments with future generations.

On the Exhibition

I came across Nankoku Hidai’s works some years back and, taken by the impact of his lines, organised an exhibition titled Linework at √K Contemporary. With Hidai as a key figure, we curated a show that shone a light on artists who expressed the art of the line. However, most visitors were new to Hidai’s work and were fascinated by his unique and powerful aesthetic.

Although this year marks the 110^th year anniversary of the artist’s birth, his name is rarely mentioned in 20^th-century art history, and, knowing how many have reacted to his work, I can’t help but feel a sense of incongruity.

Since Nankoku is a calligrapher, he is often described as an ‘avant-garde calligrapher’.

However, what exactly is avant-garde calligraphy?

When thinking of his work, this is the question that continued to linger in my mind. Viewed as ‘avant-garde calligraphy’, if his achievements are interpreted as irrelevant to art due to their being calligraphy, then where lies the essence of art?

Nankoku, like much of his surrounding contemporaries, saw great potential for the future and may have been on the brink of arousing extraordinary change.

By changing the way people think, we hope to make an impact that places Japanese art within the global context and removes the perceived boundaries between art and calligraphy. Through the works of the calligrapher who single-handedly tried to convey the essence of both, calligraphy and art, we believe Japanese art can take a leap forward.

With this in mind, we feel honored to be part of this momentous exhibition and look forward to sharing his works with many.

– Ichiko Kashima (Director, √K Contemporary）