JIRO NAGASE

For the exhibition, Jiro Nagase continues his in depth material exploration of aluminium. Lightweight, ductile, nonmagnetic and relatively new to the hands of human creation, aluminium was discovered in 1825 and industrialised for the first time in 1865, by comparison the first human use of iron dates to before 3500 BC. Its relative state-of- the-art status, along with its strength and formal aesthetic properties makes aluminium a choice material for Nagase to realise his creations. Chairs,lamps, vessels, architectural elements, analog musical instruments all realised in matte polished aluminium create a catalog of living sculpture, equally ready for functional deployment or aesthetic pleasure.

Simple architectural chairs, modifiable with back and armrests, can be merged together infinitely; lamps turned inside out allowing the user to experience the formal organisation of circuitry and wiring as well as the on/off of illumination; stanchions rendered with such refinement they question their own alleged utility; each of Nagase’s realisations masterfully blur culturally imposed lines between art and design.

-Comparisons could be drawn to the French architect and designer Jean Prouvé, who also engaged aluminium in depth, or the Bauhaus and De Stijl schools of thought, their ideas of simplicity of forms, the primacy of function, and lack of unnecessary ornament. Perhaps less apparent , though equally relevant, are connections to minimalist sculpture from the 60s and 70s, and the Southern California “finishfetishists”- both with an asymptotic drive toward perfection. Like all successful design, the objects Nagase creates elegantly solve the problems they take on, while also performing formally as sculptures, engaging the classical elements of fine art; line, shape, space, value, form, texture, colour - each work asking as many questions as it answers.

Jiro Nagase was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1990, where he continues to live and work today. He has been showing his work in solo and group exhibitions since 2019.