Exhibition/event has ended.
Enrico Isamu Oyama “Present Tense”
Takuro Someya Contemporary Art
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Artists
Enrico Isamu Oyama
Enrico Isamu Oyama, known for his signature motif adapted from the visual language of graffiti culture, creates works of namely murals and paintings but extends also to live performances, sound installations, as well as collaborative projects with commercial brands. Graffiti culture, which first arose in New York City in the 70s, was a way to express one’s alter ego through writing one’s name on the streets. As such, there is significance in the names and streets that are tied strongly to one another. To untie such a strong knot, Oyama first removed the element of alphabetic form, and by reducing them to movements of repetitive lines, reconstructed them into an abstract form.
In this way, what used to exist as a name of a writer turns into a continuum of lines, which embodies not only its own name but also its own life. Following this idea, the artist has named, as well as continued to refer to the motif as Quick Turn Structure (QTS). It is however not limited to the streets, but “it is in negotiation with different types of physical, social and conceptual media and each time the traces of its movement attach itself to a medium, it becomes a work that is uniquely present,” states Oyama. Each individual work is given the title Ffigurati, along with a serial number. The coined word Ffigurati – a play on the word “graffiti” – overlaps with the meaning of the Italian expression “figura ti (figure it out yourself)”.
Oyama has used many of the characteristics of Quick Turn Structure as the title of his exhibitions. The title of this exhibition Present Tense sheds light on the issue of time. Most critics assume that the “I was here” statement in graffiti is evocative of the “past tense”, which over-looks the fact that in the instant which the words were written, the writer was in fact in the present. The literal time frame of the writer is supposed to be “is here”. However, this undoubtedly creates a gap felt by the viewers who will be reading the words in the future. Henceforth, by prioritizing the viewer’s experience, which will be in the future, “is” is transformed to “was” beforehand, so that the delayed viewer is in a consistent time frame. In other words, the disturbance created in terms of time, is resolved and a fictional present is constructed.
This exhibition Present Tense will be Oyama’s first official solo exhibition in Japan. It is composed entirely with his new body of works including one significantly large piece featuring elaborated 84 QTS on a dynamic background of circular motifs named improvised loops as well as a sequence of 5 works where, QTS is drawn in ever so gracefully with a sharp mechanical pencil on top of a texture produced by cracked paint. Both the refined figurative and dynamic performative nature of Oyama’s works weave into each other and flows all through the exhibition.
In this way, what used to exist as a name of a writer turns into a continuum of lines, which embodies not only its own name but also its own life. Following this idea, the artist has named, as well as continued to refer to the motif as Quick Turn Structure (QTS). It is however not limited to the streets, but “it is in negotiation with different types of physical, social and conceptual media and each time the traces of its movement attach itself to a medium, it becomes a work that is uniquely present,” states Oyama. Each individual work is given the title Ffigurati, along with a serial number. The coined word Ffigurati – a play on the word “graffiti” – overlaps with the meaning of the Italian expression “figura ti (figure it out yourself)”.
Oyama has used many of the characteristics of Quick Turn Structure as the title of his exhibitions. The title of this exhibition Present Tense sheds light on the issue of time. Most critics assume that the “I was here” statement in graffiti is evocative of the “past tense”, which over-looks the fact that in the instant which the words were written, the writer was in fact in the present. The literal time frame of the writer is supposed to be “is here”. However, this undoubtedly creates a gap felt by the viewers who will be reading the words in the future. Henceforth, by prioritizing the viewer’s experience, which will be in the future, “is” is transformed to “was” beforehand, so that the delayed viewer is in a consistent time frame. In other words, the disturbance created in terms of time, is resolved and a fictional present is constructed.
This exhibition Present Tense will be Oyama’s first official solo exhibition in Japan. It is composed entirely with his new body of works including one significantly large piece featuring elaborated 84 QTS on a dynamic background of circular motifs named improvised loops as well as a sequence of 5 works where, QTS is drawn in ever so gracefully with a sharp mechanical pencil on top of a texture produced by cracked paint. Both the refined figurative and dynamic performative nature of Oyama’s works weave into each other and flows all through the exhibition.
Schedule | Aug 20 (Sat) 2016-Sep 24 (Sat) 2016 Opening Hours Information
Opening Reception Aug 20 (Sat) 2016 18:00 - 20:00 | ||||
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| Fee | Free | ||||
| Website | http://tsca.jp/exhibition/enrico-isamu-oyama-present-tense/ | ||||
| Venue | Takuro Someya Contemporary Art http://tsca.jp/ | ||||
| Location | 3F, 5F Terrada Art Complex, 1-33-10 Higashi Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 140-0002 | ||||
| Access | 9 minute walk from exit B at Tennozu Isle Station on the Rinkai line, 10 minute walk from the South exit of Tennozu Isle Station on the Tokyo Monorail line, 9 minute walk from the North exit of Shimbamba Station on the Keikyu line. | ||||
| Phone | 03-6804-3018 | ||||
| Related images | Click on the image to enlarge it |
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