Suga Kishio: Opposed Realm and Connected Edges

Each Modern is very pleased to present a solo exhibition of Suga Kishio, a seminal figure of the Mono-ha (School of Things in Japanese), a group of artists that rose to critical acclaim during the late 1960s and early 1970s in Japan. This is Suga's very first solo exhibition in Taiwan. “Basically, the essence of the space stays the same everywhere. I think the ‘existing site,’ interpreted by spatiality and things, is determined by the things in the space.” -Suga Kishio The Mono-ha artists rejected standard conventions of art as a means of subjective expression, instead, choosing to present objects and materials as they are, to reveal unseen interconnected relationships as well as new modes of seeing through a defamiliarized reality. Through utilizing natural and industrial materials, such as stone, glass, metal plates, wood, paper, cotton, wire, rope, and water, and arranged them in mostly unaltered, impermanent “situations.” In many ways, Mono-ha was a response to traditional modes of representation, as the very idea of “creation” was seen at the time as invalidated by industrialization and technology. Instead, Mono-ha attempted to bring “things” together in unaltered states, allowing the materials to speak for themselves. Suga’s approach to his materials is an ongoing investigation of “situation.” Through his intervention and juxtaposition, an "activation of existence” becomes prescient, revealing the interdependency of these various “mono,” the surrounding space, and the viewer. After the informal dissolution of Mono-ha, Suga continued to focus his practice on the intrinsic nature of “mono” through impermanent interventions. The grace and simplicity of these arrangements belie a deep philosophical and spiritual nature. From these situations, Suga recalibrates the way we see the world through things. The exhibition features the large-scale installation work Interconnected Spaces-EM, anchored on the first floor. A large stone sits in the center of the exhibition, radiating lines of rope towards the surrounding walls. “Through the arrangement, the boarders between the surrounding and the center of the work are now clear. The space and the whole situation are centralized by the restriction of the rock and the ropes. It is the geography and the extended spatiality (infinite).” -Suga Kishio Upstairs, multiple groupings of Suga’s wall-mounted geometric assemblages are presented. These reliefs are made of various materials, and demonstrate the spontaneous and intuitive character of Suga’s practice. Presented alongside the wall-hanging works are paper works, sculpture, and photographic works, which span over 40 years of the artist’s prolific practice. Though often compared to International Minimalism and Post-Minimalism, Suga’s work, in the context of Each Modern, invites viewers to realign his practice with that of other Chinese abstractionists, like that of Li Yuan-Chia’s own isolated practice. Suga Kishio was born in Morioka, Iwate Prefecture, in 1944, and currently lives and works in Ito, Shizuoka Prefecture. He received a BFA in oil painting at Tama Art University, Tokyo, in 1968. Since then, he has had numerous solo exhibitions in Japan, including at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, Tokyo (2015), the Yokohama Museum of Art, Yokohama (1999), and the Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art, Hiroshima (1997). Important international exhibitions include Situation at Pirelli HangarBicocca, Milan (2017), Kishio Suga at Dia: Chelsea, New York (2017), and Biennale di Venezia, Venice (2017). Suga's work has also been featured in recent landmark surveys, such as Prima Materia, Punta della Dogana, Venice (2013); Parallel Views: Italian and Japanese Art from the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, The Warehouse, Dallas, TX (2013); and Tokyo 1955-1970: A New Avant-Garde, Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY (2012). His work is featured in many institutional collections, including the Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX; Glenstone Foundation, Potomac, MD; Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi; Long Museum, Shanghai; M+, Hong Kong; Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo; National Museum of Art, Osaka; National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo; Pinault Collection, Venice; Tate Modern, London; Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Tokyo; the Yokohama Museum of Art, Yokohama; and The Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh. In 2018, Suga’s works were added to the collections of the Centre Pompidou, France; and Dia Chelsea, New York. Coordination: Tomio Koyama Gallery All images: © Kishio Suga