Highlight #11: Coexistence of Classical Art and New Media

Diverse Works in Japan, United States, Italy and Spain

Japan, Tokyo <SIMPLE FORMS_CONTEMPLATING BEAUTY>

25 April ~ 5 July 2015_Mori Art Museum

This exhibition presents roughly 130 “simple forms” from around the world and across the ages. In Simple Forms: Contemplating Beauty, the Mori Art Museum divides these pieces into nine sections by historical background for visitors who want to know about its origin. For example, in Europe during the 19th and early 20th centuries, renewed awareness of the aesthetics of “simple forms” had a major influence on the design of industrial goods and buildings. This also influenced artists, leading to the creation of many famous artworks of modern art.

Though this trend might have first been acknowledged in Europe, these geometric forms can easily be found in nature, folk and traditional art. In particular, Asian countries shared a similar aesthetic embodied in crafts, utensils, Buddhist statues and Zen paintings.
In this exhibition, viewers are encouraged to explore the geographical spread and historical links of a particular aesthetic from its ancient stone origins to cutting-edge installations by contemporary artists. It provides a great opportunity to check out a panoramic view of the timeless, universal beauty of simplified forms, perhaps even inspiring people to rethink the unadorned, modest and back-to-basics lifestyle as well.

Henri Matisse <Forms from>

1947 Stencil on paper 40.8×57.7cm Collection:The Museum of Modern Art, Kamakura & Hayama
Chojiro <Makomo>

Azuchi-Momoyama period(16th century) Black Raku tea bowl 8.7×10.6cm Collection:Fujita Museum, Osaka
Sengai <Circle>

Late Edo period(19th century) Ink on paper 37×49.4cm Ishimura Collection, Fukuoka Art Museum

United States, San Francisco <SHANA MOULTON_PICTURE PUZZLE PATTERN DOOR>

16 April ~ 2 August 2015_Yerba Buena Center for the Arts

New York-based artist Shana Moulton is having a solo exhibition presenting her well-known video, performance and installation. Her work is filled with kitsch, mysterious and humorous scenes. Her interest is in consumer culture, and she exposes the influence of consumerism on one’s well-being and mental satisfaction. By playing a fictional character named Cynthia, she expresses her own fantasy world in which she pursues healing, enlightenment and comfort.

In this exhibition at YBCA in San Francisco, she presents a biofeedback machine that is based on the assumption that people can control the organ’s functions by training. Cynthia’s journey is for this experiment and each scene is composed with her creative and unique visual elements.
As demonstrated in the exhibition sub-title, <Control: Technology in Culture>, Moulton expresses the relationship between people and modern technology. It is a great opportunity to enjoy the artist’s exhilarating journey into the art center.

<Cambria>

2015 Courtesy the artist and Galerie Gregor Staiger, Zurich
<Mind Place Thought Stream>

2014 Video Still Courtesy the artist and GimpelFils, London/GalerieGregorStaiger, Zurich/Galerie Crevecoeur, Paris
<SPF 2015>

2015 Image courtesy the artist and Primary, Nottingham Photo: James E Smith

Italy, San Gimignano <ANISH KAPOOR_DESCENSION>

2 May ~ 29 August 2015_GALLERIA CONTINUA

Anish Kapoor is often considered one of the most famous artists in the world. If you haven’t seen an exhibition yet and you have an opportunity to visit Italy, his amazing works are being presented in San Gimignano from May to August.
Born in 1954, Kapoor now lives and works in London. In 1990, he received the Premio Duemila at Venice Biennale and was the 1991 Turner Prize Award winner. He is known for his large-scale sculptures that provide visitors with new experiences. His sculptures are sometimes humorous, mysterious and philosophical.

The exhibition highlights the site-specific work ttiled <Descension>, previously presented at the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, India’s first Biennale for contemporary art in Kochi. When visitors face this artwork, they will find that black water spins down a bottomless hole into the gallery floor. More of his representative works that distort image and space will be present as well.

Installation detail of <Descension>

2014 Courtesy the artist and GALLERIA CONTINUA, San Gimignano/Beijing/LesMoulins
Work caption: <Intersection>

2012 Corten 515×812.5×514.4cm Courtesy the artist and GALLERIA CONTINUA, San Gimignano/Beijing/LesMoulins Photographed by Oak Taylor-Smith Image caption: Installation view at Galleria Continua/LesMoulins
<Untitled>

2009 Stainless steel 140cm Courtesy the artist and GALLERIA CONTINUA, San Gimignano/Beijing/LesMoulins Photo:ElaBialkowska

Spain, Barcelona <GABRIEL CASAS_PHOTOGRAPHY, INFORMATION AND MODERNITY, 1929-1939>

22 April ~ 30 August 2015_Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (MNAC)

Good news for people who love photography. An exhibition of Gabriel Casas is on view. The show is about photography, and this artist snapped images important to him. He was one of the Spanish photographers who documented from the time of war in Spain. He chose to utilize his own photographic language, which was called “New Vision” at the time. The movement started in Germany and was used to change framing, low and high angle shots, find a contrast in light and shapes, photomontage and so on. By viewing those images, you can easily find yourself lost in the original characters of the era.

And you can see these featured photos at the MNAC, where the gallery gathers 120 pictures of the photographer’s most significant moments: from the International Exhibition in Barcelona in 1929 to the end of the Spanish Civil War in 1939.
Through this show, visitors are encouraged to discover the relationship between artist and new photography, as well as seek the answers for the modern, social and political concerns of his time. ■ with ARTINPOST

<Radio Barcelona transmitter on Tibidabo, Barcelona>

1930 Arxiu Nacional de Catalunya
<Self-portrait>

1931 Arxiu Nacional de Catalunya