A New Form of Memories: New York Contemporary Art Exhibition

A New Form of Memories: New York Contemporary Art Exhibition

2010 8.31 - 11.14

Barnaby Furnas "Concert " (detail), 2009, 264x427cm, coloured pencil, water dispersed pigment, Saral transfer paper and acrylic on linen
Press Release

Kasama Nichido Museum of Art presents a special featured exhibition "A New Form of Memories - New York Contemporary Art Exhibition" from 31st August until 14th November. Art works by six established artists based in New York, a city where all artists are always seeking new means to express themselves, are introduced along with a text by an independent curator Shinya Watanabe.
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New York is a city where artists of all races from countries around the world gather. Its art world is constantly in pursuit of new possibilities for artistic expression.

After World War II, when the center of the global art scene began to shift from Paris to New York, a new school of art known as Abstract Expressionism, represented by Jackson Pollock and his contemporaries, emerged in the city. Subsequently, various other movements flourished as distinct genres of contemporary art in New York, including the Pop Art of artists like Andy Warhol, conceptual art, Minimalism, performance art and installation.

Today, the situation is the same: artists from around the world who congregate in New York, each carrying with them a diverse set of memories, vie with each other to pursue new, innovative approaches to their art and practice. The new forms created by these singular artists, much like the works on display at this exhibition, sometimes stimulate the viewer’s imagination, prompting a reconsideration of history, or the fundamental memories that underlie the human experience.

Brazilian artist Vik Muniz recreates scenes from historical paintings using images made up of fine powdered pigments in vibrant colors. Janaina Tschäpe, who was born to a Brazilian mother and a German father, creates paintings that depict mythical worlds. Barnaby Furnas, a Philadelphia-born artist, portrays moments of ecstasy experienced at rock concerts in paintings that resemble religious tableaux. Daniel Lee, who was born in China and grew up in Taiwan, uses computer graphics to create images of “manimals” – hybrid human creatures with an animal-like appearance. Finally, a series of works based on the events of 1968 in Japan by Bradley McCallum and Jacqueline Tarry, artists who have previously dealt with racial issues in America, can be read in terms of the fundamental memories that belong to all humans.

These new forms, born out of the memories and imaginations of the exhibiting artists, have emerged out of New York, a city in constant pursuit of new possibilities for individual expression. We hope these works stir your imagination, perhaps prompting a dramatic transformation even in the landscapes that make up our daily lives.

- Shinya Watanabe

For further information, please contact below:
Kasama Nichido Museum of Art
+81-(0)296-72-2160
URL http://www.nichido-garo.co.jp/museum/
E-mail k-museum@nichido-garo.co.jp

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