SHINPEI KUSANAGI

Taka Ishii Gallery is pleased to announce nowhere now here, a solo exhibition by Shinpei Kusanagi from February 14th to March 14th, 2015. Kusanagi’s third solo exhibition at Taka Ishii Gallery and his first in Tokyo, nowhere now here will feature approximately 15 new works. His last solo exhibition with the gallery was presented two years ago.

“Hey, hey, Mr. Acosta!” I yelled. “Can I come with you?” I noticed that he had stopped walking; it was again more a feeling than an actual sight because the bush was so thick. “You can certainly come with me if you can find an entry into the bush,” he said. - Carlos Castaneda, The Active side of Infinity (Harper, 1998), p.121

The exhibition includes works made by staining untreated cotton and hemp fabrics as well as wooden panels featuring detailed images of plants and landscapes. The two bodies of works have influenced one another in terms of paying meticulous attention to the details of events and things, and the act of drawing as a means of preserving them in memory. In the stained works, which are central to Kusanagi’s practice, the contours of the painted forms are not clearly defined. He captures landscapes by incorporating the element of chance that is introduced through the staining method. The figures, forms, architectural elements, and space, which are constituted by layers of overlapping imagery that exist between abstraction and representation, remain active on the picture plane with their seemingly melting colors. They connect with something inside viewers to evoke various landscapes, much as the way in which music does in its listeners.

Shinpei Kusanagi was born in 1973 in Tokyo where he currently remains based. His recent solo exhibitions include, so far so close, Altman Siegel Gallery S/F (San Francisco, 2014) and project N 45 KUSANAGI Shinpei, Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery (Tokyo, 2011). Kusanagi’s work was featured in the group exhibition VOCA, The Ueno Royal Museum, (Tokyo, 2011). He has also provided images for numerous book covers. In 2013, Kyuryudo published Kiyosumi kaiwai, a book of Kusanagi’s images and texts.

Publication details:
Shinpei Kusanagi, nowhere now here, Published by Taka Ishii Gallery, 2015 Edition of 500, Hardcover, 40 pages, 18 illustrations, 210 x 182 mm, Retail price: TBC



クサナギシンペイ nowhere now here 展示風景画像 タカ・イ イギャラリー東京 2015 年2 月14 日- 3 月14 日 Photo: Kenji Takahashi