This is a long overdue post, as I visited this gallery space back in June; however, I still want to share photos from the opening exhibition because NANZUKA UNDERGROUND is already one of my favorite art spaces in Tokyo....
This is a long overdue post, as I visited this gallery space back in June; however, I still want to share photos from the opening exhibition because NANZUKA UNDERGROUND is already one of my favorite art spaces in Tokyo.
NANZUKA UNDERGROUND had a successful grand opening of its new flagship gallery located in Jingumae, Shibuya, Tokyo, near United Arrows Harajuku. The gallery was built with Tetsuya Nakamura’s custom paint facade and Hajime Sorayama’s design emblem. The kick-off exhibition was a solo exhibition of new works by Masato Mori which started on June 5th. NANZUKA UNDERGROUND has since held solo exhibitions by artists such as Ryuichi Ohira, Haroshi and Christian Rex van Minnen (currently exhibited). It was a clean and spacious gallery with 2 floors and a small balcony area.
NANZUKA??UNITED ARROWS?????????????????????????????????NANZUKA UNDERGROUND????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????2021???????????????????????????????????????????????????Ryuichi Ohira?Haroshi????Christian Rex van Minnen?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
I visited NANZUKA UNDERGROUND on opening day with my friend Junior. “Lonsdaleite Year” was an exhibition of new works by Masato Mori, and it marked the artist’s first solo presentation with the gallery in five years since his previous show in 2016. In recent years, he has increasingly expanded the scope of his activities internationally, such as presenting a solo exhibition of his work at the Nova section of Art Basel Beach (2019) and taking part in the group exhibition “Tokyo Pop Underground” (2019/2020) at Jeffrey Deitch. While Mori’s paintings are characterized by their vivid colors and complex texture, they simultaneously present a somewhat comical and light impression. In the process leading to this style, Mori repeatedly analyzed the various influential relationships that serve as the root of his creative activities, in particular seeking out points of correspondence between his own aesthetic perspective and that of comics, video games, and animation. Furthermore, in Mori’s recent works, it is also possible to discover a certain affinity with artists like Jean Du Buffet, Paul Klee, Pablo Picasso, and Wassily Kandinsky.
“Lonsdeleite Year” is a series that can be regarded as a picture diary describing Mori’s daily life in Tokushima. In addition, what should particularly be noted with regards to Mori’s process of creation is the correlation between three-dimensional works and two-dimensional works. Mori likes to use graphics that he draws with a pen tab tool as preliminary sketches for his paintings. On the other hand, his three-dimensional works such as ceramic and bronzes are based on colored pencil drawings that have been sketched from his finished paintings. The process of creating different media such as graphics, paintings, drawings and 3D works as if to facilitate interactions between the three-dimensional and two-dimensional realms, is a technique that Mori naturally arrived at through repeated experimentation.
Nanzuka??2016???5???????????????????Lonsdaleite Year??NANZUKA UNDERGROUND????????????????Art Basel Miami Beach?Nova??????????????2019???Jeffrey Deitch?????Tokyo Pop Underground??2019/2020?????????????????????
????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????TV???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
?Lonsdaelite Year????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????3??????????????????????????????????????????????????????
Thank you so much for having me NANZUKA UNDERGROUND, and congratulations Masato Mori!
The post NANZUKA UNDERGROUND Gallery Space in Tokyo appeared first on Samantha Mariko.