Kosuke Nagata
Solo Exhibition
Equilibres
10.2 (Sat) - 11.7 (Sun), 2021
Open on Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, and Sat. 12:00 – 18:00
Closed on Sundays, Mondays, and National holidays, except November 7.
* To protect public health against COVID-19, we will suspend the reception event.
Supported by Stratasys Japan co. ltd.
We at ANOMALY are pleased to announce an upcoming solo exhibition of works by Kosuke Nagata. Titled Equilibres, it will run from Saturday, October 2 to Sunday, November 7, 2021.
Equilibres, the title, is from an eponymous series of works produced by the Swiss artist duo of Peter Fischli and David Weiss from 1984 to 1986.
The “Equilibres” (meaning “balance” in French) series consists of photographs of three-dimensional artworks composed of assemblages of household articles and objects in the studio. Nagata regards them as “sculptured works that circulate as images.” He believes the series has a strong relationship with land art and earthworks that arose in the late 1960s and circulated in magazines, artwork collections, and cinema-like media.
In Nagata’s view, “Equilibres” reversed the relationship between artwork and documentation in land art and earthworks, whose works were distributed as images. It showed that even fragile objects could constitute sculptures if photographed and titled. In short, it was a humorous exposure of the nature of sculpture as a happening.
Herein lies the reversal, i.e., the genesis of value as an artwork not on the side of the original object (≒artwork), but on that of the photograph, which could be considered a copy of it. This superiority of image over matter echoes the situation that colored the 1980s, when televised media began to exert its influence over all aspects of society.
Kosuke Nagata (Title TBD) ©︎Kosuke Nagata
In this exhibition, Nagata drew on the photographic works of “Equilibres” as he produced sculptures by making 3D models that he printed with a 3D printer. “Equilibres” contained plural photographs of the same object; Nagata similarly produced plural works that have mutually different titles although they look to be exactly the same. In the process of creating works based on “Equilibres”, which made artworks out of copies (photographs) of artworks, the relationship between object and image, and copy and original, becomes more complex. Nagata is striving to grasp the problem of image in the contemporary age by contemplating the issue of “sculptured works circulating as image” created in the mass-media age of the 1980s against the background of today’s media environment.
Kosuke Nagata (Title TBD) ©︎Kosuke Nagata
This exhibition will be linked with “Eating Body”, another solo exhibition of Nagata’s work held at Moto-Eigakan. In addition to showing the earlier works Translation Zone (2019) and Purée (2020), Moto-Eigakan will offer food prepared by the artist himself, while the ANOMALY exhibition will be centered around the newly produced 3D works.
Purée, (2020) ©︎Kosuke Nagata
Nagata is also a skilled cook who researches dietary and culinary culture, and puts the findings into practice. This aspect of him is also closely intertwined with his artwork. Cooking may be regarded as a process of measuring out correct quantities, cutting and shaping ingredients to give them the right form, adjusting the temperature and moisture by means of fire and microwaves, and letting ingredients sit for a certain time to ferment, etc. The operation is performed on the basis of theory, and can be likened to an alchemy that is accompanied by material change. In Purée, Nagata shows utensils and the functional change in bodies consuming food as a relationship between culture and body.
To actually share this practice, we at ANOMALY are planning to provide an opportunity for the “consumption” of food prepared by Nagata during the run of the exhibition. Because of the pandemic, this will be a unique banquet in which tables will be properly spaced and parties of no more than two people will dine apart from each other. We will provide more information about this plan later.
These two exhibitions (“Equilibres” and the exhibition at Moto-Eigakan) present a golden opportunity to get an overview of the activities of Kosuke Nagata. We ask for your cooperation with publicity for them.
Born in Aichi, 1990. Lives and works in Kanagawa.
Locating fundamental components such as social structure, today’s media technology, and our sensory system to perceive various phenomena in his artistic interest, artwork by Kosuke Nagata continues to emerge ambiguity in the process of distinguishing one from another.
He has recently participated in the following major exhibitions “Aichi Triennale 2019: Taming Y/Our Passion“ (Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art), “Open Space 2018: in transition” (NTT InterCommunication Center), and “The Yebisu International Festival for Art & Alternative Visions 2018: Mapping the Invisible” (TOKYO PHOTOGRAPHIC ART MUSEUM). The essay titled ‘Photography after Photoshop: Software of the “Photographic Apparatus”’ contributed to the Lev Manovich’s Japanese-translated publication “Instagram and Contemporary Image” (Tokyo: BNN, 2018).
Notification of precautions and requests
To prevent the spread of COVID-19, and to ensure the safety of visitors, artists, staff, and the community in compliance with the government’s health guidelines, please take a moment for the following requests upon your visit.
To avoid three C’s (Closed and Crowded place, Close contact), please refrain from visiting the gallery in large groups.
Visitors are asked to wear masks and sanitize hands before entering the gallery. Hand sanitizer is available at the entrance.
Please refrain from visiting the gallery if you have symptoms such as a fever (37.5°C or higher) or cough.
Our staff will have temperatures taken before coming to work to check health conditions every day, and will guide you by adopting frequent hand hygiene and wearing masks.
The entire space will be regularly ventilated and we will disinfect the high-touch areas.
Please check our website or SNS for the latest information about opening hours, as we may change it or close the gallery in unpredictable circumstances.
We appreciate your cooperation.