River: Tsuyoshi Hisakado

Ota Fine Arts is delighted to announce Tsuyoshi Hisakado's first exhibition in four years in Tokyo. Having experienced the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake and the Great East Japan Earthquake, Hisakado's artistic practice draws from a consideration of the laws of nature and the universe, which are far beyond human wisdom. Hisakado, who has a studio in the rural landscape of Kameoka, Kyoto, is at the mercy of heavy rainfall and severe weather, as well as wildlife. While he experiences day-to-day how these things function organically in accordance with the order of the Earth's larger systems, at the same time, he had a doubt that the rules set by humans are deviating from this natural order. The new works in the exhibition reflect Hisakado's consistent pursuit of eternity and uniqueness, and also possess 'aesthetics' that resonate with the human senses. This idea originates from his interest in nature, the earth and the universe and little events that occur in our daily lives.

Hisakado has titled this exhibition 'River'. Rivers have been the source of human civilization since ancient times. In the present age of climate change, it is also the rivers that easily sweep away the order that civilization has nurtured over many years and overwrite it with a new order. In his new two-dimensional work, Hisakado creates a spiral of small numbers denoting the mathematical constant, pi. Beginning from a single sheet of paper, the spiral of numbers extends across many sheets of papers which gradually fills almost the entire wall. The continuous, eternal sequence of numbers has been torn apart and broken up numerous times along the way, but the fragments together form one big current and undulation again, composing a new river.

The exhibition also showcases two sculptures constituted of composite materials, that make use of light impressively. In one work, the thin light emitted from a neon tube penetrates straight through the glass cases placed side-by-side. In the other, it forms a circle which loosely connects objects with spheres and perforated plates placed on top of them. The light that runs through the objects without hesitation looks as though it breaks through the human-made order and boundaries, opening a hole that connects this world with the other world. 'Light', which Hisakado treats as an equivalent sculptural material to stone or clay, is also a trace of countless atomic-level energies, and like a river, it creates a great current that transcends human knowledge and continues to flow without regard to human progress.

In addition, a new work combining a pendulum and a tiny magnifying lens, which has been used by Hisakado extensively in the past, will also be presented. The tiny lens, which swings with the movement of the pendulum at a constant speed, magnifies two words on the surface of the work. It questions which direction we should go, and if it is a confrontation or transition. These questions seem to be directed at us as we stand at a crossroad, as nature, weather, nations, borders and various forms of order appear to be collapsing. It could be said that this work reflects our constant urge to make choices and decisions in the unstoppable flow of time.

At a time when the entire planet is experiencing a great deal of friction, we invite you to Hisakado's experimental attempt to develop a new order within the constant flow of a 'river'.