TANADA KOJI

At Kobe Rokko Meets Art 2026 beyond, Tanada is currently presenting a new work set within Tadao Ando’s iconic Chapel of the Wind. Identifying three distinct layers within the architectural space—reality, an intermediate realm, and the sacred realm—he places his sculptures along the “boundaries” between them, guiding the viewer’s gaze toward their own inner world.

Tanada has long described the ideal state of his sculptures as “existing on the boundary.” This is not simply a line separating two worlds, but a space with breadth that extends between them. Life and death, reality and the unreal, body and soul, self and other: rather than belonging wholly to either side, Tanada continues to contemplate, through sculpture, those who exist between them.

In this latest solo exhibition, to see love, this gaze is directed even further toward the very experience of being human. Throughout the gallery, figures appear in different states: standing firmly upon the earth; standing in absolute solitude; and fading away into the realm of the spirit. Each is a presence that, even amid circumstances of profound hardship, seeks to come to terms with the reality of living.

“When a person finds themselves in such a situation, perhaps they need something absolute to hold on to. For me, that might be what we call ‘love.’”

To embrace one’s own life and continue living in the present while carrying loneliness and anxiety, separation and loss. Tanada understands “love” as something he, as an artist, must hold within himself. At the same time, he asks whether sculpture itself might embody the existence of “love,” something that cannot be fully articulated in words.

Carved from wood, these figures stand upon the earth with palpable weight yet carry within them the fragility of beings destined one day to disappear. In confronting them, we may find our own attention turning towards what it means to live, what it means to care for one another, and what it is that sustains us.

Through sculpture, Tanada invites us to contemplate the invisible presence of “love.” That gaze may ultimately turn inward, towards our own inner selves, quietly illuminating what lies there. We warmly invite you to experience this exhibition in person.