chronicle : Repetitive strata
mjk-staffYuuya Morikawa / Kengo Nagayama
Ceramics by Morikawa, embracing the creative process of "firing" that humanity has repeated since ancient times.
Paintings by Nagayama, as an exploration of art as an emanation from the earth, as its origin.
Walter Benjamin once argued for replacing the origin of art with the religious values of primitive times.
If so, fire and earth must have had a much closer relationship with art in the past.
This two-person exhibition reexamines the primitive creativity evoked from contemporary art, which harkens back to today's art.
This exhibition is a two-person show that reexamines the primitive creativity inherent in today's art. It features the ceramic works of Morikawa, who engages in the ancient and repetitive creative process of "firing." Morikawa's ceramics embody a production process that humanity has been practicing since ancient times. On the other hand, Nagayama explores the art of origin as emanating from the earth through his paintings. Benjamin once argued for replacing the origin of art with the religious values of primitive times, suggesting that fire and the earth were once more intimate aspects of life.
The title, "chronicle" implies recording and documenting. Each work accumulates material or thoughts, reminiscent of history from ancient times and geological layers. It prompts us to reflect on the present state of artistic activity and inquire about our current position.
In the case of Yuuya Morikawa:
Having temporarily distanced himself from clay, Morikawa transforms industrial products by crushing and firing them, turning them into new works. The process of dismantling already completed objects and re-firing them is synonymous with weaving new stories into supposedly concluded narratives. Using clay afterward, he updates and layers new images from the backgrounds embedded in the motifs. Morikawa points out that the contradictory process of dismantling while sculpting not only addresses superficial issues inherent in the motifs but also disregards the "invisible characteristics" they possess.
In the case of Kengo Nagayama:
Nagayama's primary interest lies in the origin of art, exemplified by the cave paintings of Lascaux and Altamira. Generally, paintings, represented by oil paintings, are created and often hung on walls or placed on easels, meaning they are displayed in an upright manner. In Nagayama's case, as an extension of the origin from the earth, he places canvases on the floor. Additionally, he uses minimal brushes, opting to draw with his hands, constructing images as expressions of the body itself. The process of Nagayama's painting, drawing on the floor, and the subsequent hanging on the wall encapsulate the transformation of the place where the painting is "drawn/placed" from the earth to the wall, a change that likely occurred in primitive times.