Kiyoshi Hamada, Strata of Memory – Light and Shadow –

Venue: √K Contemporary (Root K Contemporary, 6 Minamicho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo)
Dates: Sept 19 (Sat) – Oct 24 (Sat), 2020
Open 11am to 7pm. Closed Sun & Mon. Open everyday during Silver Week (Sept 19 – Sept 22)
Artist: Kiyoshi Hamada
Exhibiting approx 30 works from the 1980’s to the present

“Perpetual movement, to never be in one place.

To feel a memory that has passed, now, before your very eyes.

Now is when one is in a position to finally witness the freedom of their force (movement).”

―　Kiyoshi Hamada

√K Contemporary is proud to present Hamada’s third major solo exhibition, “Strata of Memory -Light and Shadow”.

Following his solo exhibitions at Kashima Arts (Kyobashi, Tokyo, 2016) and Nerima Art Museum (Nerima-ku, Tokyo, 2015), Kiyoshi Hamada has since participated in numerous international art fairs to much acclaim.

Born in Kochi prefecture, the artist was inspired by the light and darkness of his hometown’s seascapes. Despite being in his eighties, the artist continues to create works through his vigorous but quiet and repetitious process of production daily. Akin to ideas of eternal return, the perpetuity of Hamada’s laborious production births new, phenomenological motifs for the artist. Echoing a sense of acceptance, the artist’s latest series is, in many ways, Hamada’s triumph: a successful manifestation of a once vague memory, and the creation and control of light and shadow. Like how eyes must adapt to the darkness, these works capture, adjust, and express subtle variations in light as a way to explore monochrome aesthetics.

The unification of polarities. Consolidations of light and shadow, symbolic of ideas of Yin and Yang. Unifying the real and unreal, these works present three-dimensional extensions of a new world.

In his latest endeavor, the artist’s monochrome series reflects the artist’s constant endeavor to innovate and produce new systems and values for his work.

【Exhibition Highlights】

While he is past 80 years of age, Hamada has never ceased his artistic endeavors.

This exhibition will follow his path and present approximately 30 works from the 1980s to his most recent, newest 2020 series. 

・Drawing Re-Examined

While the artist began his career as a highly acclaimed woodblock print artist, he began to search for new forms of artistic expression in the 1980s. His first divergence, the artist’s Drawing series consisted of works on paper, that contained overlapping, single pencil lines that amassed into a completely black surface. Created through a set of repetitive movements, the “surface” of each work emerges with the illuminating glow of graphite.

・Light and Darkness in a Monochrome World

A new series of semi-sculptural works will be unveiled at this exhibition. Stepping away from two-dimensional modes of production, these works reflect the artist’s continuous endeavor to address and express where he is “now”. As works of light and shadow, they evoke visceral and primordial feelings of self-reflection.

One of the key works from the exhibition, “2-2-17” (2020), consists of 6 panels that are, altogether, 3m in width. With an entirely black surface of overlapping woodblocks, the formal texture of the work changes the experience of the work completely from the angle of sight. These pure expressions of light and shadow reflect the sensitivity Hamada developed over 80 years of age.

【“Strata of Memory – Light and Shadow -” Exhibition Catalog】

Catalogs of exhibited works and an accompanying essay will be available for purchase.

*Catalog contains full English translations.

Both, a record and an ode to Hamada’s oeuvre, these catalogs illustrate the history of the artist’s work and development, from the 1980s to the present alongside writings by the art critic, Ren Fukuzumi.

〈Hamada Kiyoshi “Strata of Memory -Light and Shadow-” Exhibition Catalog〉
Price: 1,000 yen
Illustrated works: approximately 30 exhibited works

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