YOD Gallery is pleased to present new works by Nobuo Sekine in his solo latest exhibition, “from Mono-ha to New Genesis Mono-ha” in Osaka. This exhibition will use the 2 gallery spaces in their entirety incorporating new paintings and a selection of sculptures and paintings from the last 20 years.

One of the most significant Asian artists of his generation, Sekine’s exploration of “Phase – Earth” results in works of painterly and thought-provoking space. Following his critically acclaimed public art execution “Phase –Earth” in 1968, Sekine has continued his sculptures and public art in domestic and overseas as a director of Environment Art Studio. He first exhibited “Phase Painting” in 1987: three-dimensional canvases that are defined by flat surfaces with sequent membranes, raising a question about the two-dimensional space. Sekine’s methodology seemed to be established, based in utter concentration in essential elements. Gesture and the Japanese materials play a key role in the making of his painting, during which Sekine acts in front of the unique canvas that are sequentially layered with thin traditional Japanese papers. Each fragile gold leaf or black leaf is applied carefully after he violently scratches and cuts the soft canvas. Sekine expresses a new phase of painting that is related to both the three-dimensional space and the two-dimensional space. However, he suddenly stopped executing “Phase Painting” series several years later. After his silence for 15 years, he resumed executing “Phase Painting” series in 2005. These new works express his preoccupation with the relationship between the two dimensional and the three dimensional, and the more Japanese traditional medium, such as Washi (Japanese paper) with gold leaf painted with Iwa-enogu (rock paints). It can be said that his works are developed into a new stage as “the 21st-century Mono-ha”.