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Katsuhiko Narita Exhibition
Tokyo Gallery + BTAP
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Artists
Katsuhiko Narita
Katsuhiko Narita (1944-1992) was born in Busan, South Korea. He joined the Department of Painting at Tama Art University in 1965 and worked as an assistant to Jiro Takamatsu, who was a lecturer at the university at the time. Narita’s style of addressing visual issues by delving into subjects in a conceptual manner was influenced by Takamatsu, and this eventually led to the birth of the Mono-ha movement. In May 1968, at a group exhibition at Ogikubo Gallery, he presented a Mobile Structure consisting of seven soft sponge pillars. This work, which curved significantly under its weight, was characterized by its spatial interaction as the audience was free to move and manipulate the pillars. Narita continued to experiment with interventions in existing spaces, presenting works such as pieces of lumber spanning opposing walls (Susumu Koshimizu, Keiji Yabe, Katsuhiko Narita 3 Person Exhibition, Muramatsu Gallery, February 1969) and covering a portion of a museum wall with iron bands (9th Contemporary Art Exhibition of Japan, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, May 1969).
Narita's most iconic work, "Sumi," was first exhibited at the 6th Paris Youth Biennale in 1969. The piece consisted of large pieces of charcoal that presented their materiality and evoked the passage of time by showing the decaying process of the charcoal. Unlike previous site-specific works that made viewers aware of spatiality and physicality, "Sumi" emphasized the presence of the material itself. "Sumi" was presented again in 1970, at the Tokyo Biennale ‘70: Between Man and Matter headed by critic Yusuke Nakahara, to which Narita participated along with Richard Serra, Christo, Carl Andre, Jiro Takamatsu, and Susumu Koshimizu, attracting significant attention. "Sumi" eventually came to be known as a representative work not only of Narita’s oeuvre but of Mono-ha as a whole.
This exhibition focuses on Narita's works up to the 1970s, including sketches of Iron Band (no longer extant), painting works "Still Life (Bottles) No. 1-5" (1974), and relief works the "Petal" (1975-1977). After producing "Sumi," Narita returned to two-dimensional works, but his exploration of the issues of presence and absence, and topological space and its schematization, can be discerned through these works throughout the 1970s.
Narita's most iconic work, "Sumi," was first exhibited at the 6th Paris Youth Biennale in 1969. The piece consisted of large pieces of charcoal that presented their materiality and evoked the passage of time by showing the decaying process of the charcoal. Unlike previous site-specific works that made viewers aware of spatiality and physicality, "Sumi" emphasized the presence of the material itself. "Sumi" was presented again in 1970, at the Tokyo Biennale ‘70: Between Man and Matter headed by critic Yusuke Nakahara, to which Narita participated along with Richard Serra, Christo, Carl Andre, Jiro Takamatsu, and Susumu Koshimizu, attracting significant attention. "Sumi" eventually came to be known as a representative work not only of Narita’s oeuvre but of Mono-ha as a whole.
This exhibition focuses on Narita's works up to the 1970s, including sketches of Iron Band (no longer extant), painting works "Still Life (Bottles) No. 1-5" (1974), and relief works the "Petal" (1975-1977). After producing "Sumi," Narita returned to two-dimensional works, but his exploration of the issues of presence and absence, and topological space and its schematization, can be discerned through these works throughout the 1970s.
Schedule | Apr 13 (Sat) 2024-May 18 (Sat) 2024 Opening Hours Information
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| Fee | Free | ||||
| Website | https://www.tokyo-gallery.com/exhibitions/5899.html | ||||
| Venue | Tokyo Gallery + BTAP http://www.tokyo-gallery.com/ | ||||
| Location | 7F, 8-10-5 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0061 | ||||
| Access | 4 minute walk from the Ginza exit of JR Shimbashi Station. 5 minute walk from exit A3 at Ginza Station on the Ginza, Hibiya and Marunouchi lines. 5 minute walk from exit 5 at Shiodome Station on the Toei Oedo or Yurikamome line. | ||||
| Phone | 03-3571-1808 | ||||
| Related images | Click on the image to enlarge it |
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