Nobuo Sekine

 

“Phase of nothingness - Skin, Vol.2”

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September 16 (Sat) - October 7 (Sat), 2023

Opening hours: 13:00-19:00

Closing date: Sunday

 

Artists: Nobuo Sekine

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YOD Gallery is pleased to present Phase of Nothingness - Skin, a solo exhibition at our gallery by Nobuo Sekine (1942-2019), the most significant figure in the Mono-ha: The School of Things. This is the second exhibition of this series of Sekine's works exhibited at our gallery, following the first time back in 2017.
 

Since creating 'Phase - Mother Earth', which is positioned as the starting point of the 'Mono-ha' movement, Sekine has produced various paintings and sculptures, and in his later years in life, he moved to Los Angeles, where he continued to work energetically. At the root of Sekine's work lies a 'topological spatial awareness': in his 'Phase Painting' series, published in 1978, he reinterpreted painting as a 'continuous film without thickness', showing that everything is continuous and spatial, and that each painting is merely a only a cross-section, or phase, of that film. In this exhibition, following on his 'phase paintings' practice, Sekine will present a new series of works from the last years of his life, entitled ‘Phase of Nothingness - Skin'.
 

The title 'Phase of Nothingness' means that the phase is open, which is unlimited, wide open, completely free and unrestrained.”, as Sekine says. The production process of Phase of Nothingness - Skin is similar to his earlier 'phase paintings', in which paper is moistened to make it flexible, torn, scratched, cut and pasted, dried; and the action is accurately captured through surface treatments such as gold leaf and graphite. The use of canvas instead of paper brings the action of the artist and the movement of the material closer together. Therefore, ‘Phase of Nothingness - Skin’ takes phase painting, which develops spatial perception from the visual to the experiential, even to the spiritual dimension, a step further, and the painting itself becomes a more flexible and elastic phase, leading the viewers into a more open realm. We invite you to take this opportunity to enjoy Sekine’s works in this exhibition.