material&memory

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Material & Memoryby Yohei Nishimura

April 11 - May 11, 2013

Cavin-Morris GalleryNew York

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MATERIAL AND MEMORY BY YOHEI NISHIMURAApril 11 – May 11, 2013

Cavin-Morris Gallery is pleased to present its second exhibition of works by Yohei Nishimura. In the previous exhibition we showed his kiln fired books brought to their barest skeletons of shape. Words and ideas had disappeared yet they still maintained the essential identities as books. In this exhibition, Nishimura finds a blending point between enamel bowls and fruit fired to its bare essence, forced into a graphic relationship with the enamel bowls. Here are some of his comments.

“The inspiration for this work came after my visit to the British Museum, and I saw “carbonized rice”. It fascinated me that even after thousands of years, organic material such as rice had continued to exist.

Ceramic work is where fired clay turns into a hard solid form like a rock. The firing process in creating ceramics generally takes several hours to a day at a time. However, in nature, it takes thousands of years for a piece of clay to turn into a rock. In ceramics, we speed up the natural process to alter the material form.

For this exhibition, I have fired fruit. If we leave these materials as is, they will decay and lose their current form. However, by firing these fruits I prevent the fruits from decomposing, and I sustain their form.

The fruits were placed in an enameled bowl and fired together. In this process, I was able to create and observe a new relationship/interaction between the fruits and the enameled bowls. The fired fruit left the outside shell and maintained their form, but the fruit flesh com-pletely melted. In a white bowl, this melted fruit flesh leaves a trace and simultaneously cre-ates multiple lines in the bowl. There were no lines before the firing, but the process of firing bowl and fruit together creates lines. Each bowl then has a different set of lines. No lines are the same. It is like observing the heritage of each bowl.

An apple and a bowl - one is organic, and the other is not. Yet, with human input, the nature of that relationship will begin to show us a new vision of where the organic and inorganic merge. “

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Yohei Nishimura’s work is ceremonial. His process of making his work is ceremonial. It is not the proscribed formulae of Western ceremony. It is about the shadow-world of memory. It is about what once was and what remains. And because of the transient nature of memory, the process of what once was becoming what remains never repeats. This is most evident in the poetic ongoing series of books Nishimura fires in his kiln till they lose all but the thinnest shells of their skeletons. No two ever fire alike. We take for granted the sotto voce references to war, disaster, or destruction. They are present but not paramount. Underneath these shells lurks the primal idea of what a ‘book’ really is. We immediately know them as books because we remember the forms. They are still paper, howbeit paper transformed by time. But the words are gone. Nishimura’s retention of the titles allows a very brief passage of memory. Who lived here? I knew their names but didn’t know them. Essentially the intentionalities of the original volumes have been wiped clean but our memories still know them as books. We have collaborated with the idea of Time. The current series plays on the ideas of the books but takes it further by using apples, kiwis, and pears as the perfect embodiment of familiarity and Nature. Not only have they been returned to the essential being of their projected forms and lost their specificities, but they have pushed further into an alchemical collaboration of new creation. Each fired fruit not only broadcasts the perfection of its essential form but also has gone further in creating interactive relationships between artist, time, fire, viewer and the acceptance and resistances of the enamel bowls giving at the same time individual identities to what were once anonymous and indistinguished entities. The firing of each fruit produced its own marks on the interior walls of the bowls -- some gestural, some patterned and some minimal. By suspending the bowls the artist has played with something not previously tried with his books. He has suspended time and we are privileged to review the work from that perspective. The shadows beneath the works created by the lighting poetically insinuate the passage of the moon through the night sky, flirting with eclipse and the intangibilities of epochs past. We can hold on to the essence of memory. Memory creates its own context. We can never capture it fully. In that way his is the dark response to the passing of cherry blossoms in their ineluctable sadness. His work contains as always the quality of Yugen: The maelstrom of beauty in silence. -Randall Morris

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detail: Material and Memory, 2012 - 2013 Fired enamel bowls with apple, pear, or kiwi 3.75 x 9.75 in/ 9.5 x 24.8 cm

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An Introduction to Neutron Transport, 2009Fired Book

5 x 4.25 x 3 in/ 12.7 x 10.8 x 7.6 cmYN 33

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Wilson vs Lenin, 2009Fired Book

4.5 x 3.5 x 4 in/ 11.4 x 8.9 x 10.2 cm4.5 x 3.5 x 2 in/ 11.4 x 8.9 x 5.1 cm

YN 32

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The Progressive ER, 2009Fired Book

5.5 x 4 x 1.5 in/ 14 x 10.2 x 3.8 cmYN 35

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New Playboy’s Party Jokes, 2009Fired Magazine

6 x 3.5 x .25 in/ 15.2 x 8.9 x .6 cmYN 15

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Theory of Elastic Stability, 2009Fired Book

6.5 x 3 x 2.5 in/ 16.5 x 7.6 x 6.4 cmYN 27

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A Genetic Switch, 2009Fired Book

6.5 x 5.25 x 1.5 in/ 16.5 x 13.3 x 3.8 cmYN 36

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The New Deal, 2009Fired Book

5 x 3 x 1.75 in/ 12.7 x 7.6 x 4.4 cmYN 31

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Boston’s Immigrants, 2009Fired Book

6.25 x 4.25 x 2 in/ 15.9 x 10.8 x 5.1 cmYN 34

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Culture of Narcissism, 2009Fired Book

4.25 x 4 x 2.25 in/ 10.8 x 8.3 x 5.7 cmYN 24

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Color Science 2009Fired Book

6 x 4.25 x 3.25 in/ 15.2 x 10.8 x 8.3 cmYN 45

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Introductory Quantum, 2009Fired Book

4 x 3.25 x 3 in/ 10.2 x 8.3 x 7.6 cmYN 22

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Special Theory of Relativity, 2009Fired Book

7 x 5 x 3 in/ 17.8 x 12.7 x 7.6 cmYN 37

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Non-Linear Optics, 2009Fired Book

5.5 x 5.5 x 4 in/ 14 x 14 x 10.2 cmYN 14

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Time Magazine, No. 26, 1986 World Cup, 2009Fired Magazine

7 x 5.25 x 1 in/ 17.8 x 13.3 x 2.5 cmYN 44

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Semi Metals & Narrow Band Gap, 2009Fired Book

7.5 x 5 x 3 in/ 19.1 x 12.7 x 7.6 cmYN 49

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Museum Catalog - Lost and Found, 2007Fired Book

9 x 6.5 x 1.5 in/ 22.9 x 16.5 x 3.8 cmYN 142

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Untitled, 2007Fired Book

12.5 x 8.5 x 0.5 in/ 31.8 x 21.6 x 1.3 cmYN 143

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9 x 6 x 3 in/ 22.9 x 15.2 x 7.6 cmYN 144

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10.75 x 7 x 3 in/ 27.3 x 17.8 x 7.6 cmYN 145

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Untitled, 2007Collage, book cover

9 x 5.5 in/ 22.9 x 14 cmYN 146

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Untitled, 2007Collage, book cover

9.5 x 6.5 in/ 24.1 x 16.5 cmYN 147

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B i o g r a p h y

Yohei Nishimura graduated from the Arts Department of Tokyo University Of Education. He has been a teacher of blind children in Chiba School for the Blind for 23 years, teaching children to create three-dimensional works of art using modeling clay. In 1977 he received the Foreign Minister Prize in the Japan Ceramic Art Exhibition. In the 1990s he coached the visually Impaired in Nepal’s Technical & Skill Development Centre and America’s Governor Morehead School. He has also been an exhibition curator and conducted Touch Art workshops for the visually impaired in Hong Kong.

Nishimura is one of Japan’s leading ceramic sculptors whose works are in the permanent collection of famous museums like the Museum of Decorative Arts (Paris); the National Museum of Ceramic-Sevres (Paris); the Victoria & Albert Museum (London); and the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo. He is currently a Professor at Japan Women’s University.

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E x h i b i t i o n s a n d P u b l i c a t i o n s

1947 Born in Kyoto1973 Graduated from Tokyo National University of Education

S o l o E x h i b i t i o n s1980 Gallery Seiho Tokyo (’82)/Gallery Iteza Kyoto/Ban Gallery Osaka (’82, ’84)1981 Gallery Mitsui, Tokyo (’83)1982 Gallery Chiira, Chiba1983 Kiriyama Gallery, Tokyo(’86, ’88, ’89 ’90, ’93)1985 Izumi Gallery, Tokyo/Gallery Isogaya, Tokyo (’88 ’91, ’95)1986 Gallery Haku, Osaka1987 INAX Gallery, Tokyo1988 Gallery Caption, Gifu (’92, ’94)/Gallery Mori, Tokyo (’90, ’94)1989 Gallery Tsubaki, Tokyo/Gallery Pousse, Tokyo (’91,’93, ’95, ’97)/Gallery Lamia, Tokyo1991 Ichikawa Gallery, Tokyo/Gallery Doga, Tokyo/Gallery Tenjiku, Tokyo/La Bella, Chiga/ Kuroda Touen, Tokyo/ Keio Department Store, Tokyo1992 Gallery Koyanagi Tokyo1993 Altiam, Fukuoka/Memory’s Gallery, Nagoya (’94)/Shugado Gallery, Osaka/Imura Art Gallery, Kyoto (’95)/Oregon Moon Gallery, Tokyo (’96)/Gallery Asuka, Tokyo (’94, ’95, ’96, ’97, ’98, ’99, ’00, ’01, ’02)/Keramik-Galerie Bowig, Germany/Masuda Studio, Tokyo1995 Otemon Gallery, Fukuoka/Life Gallery Ten, Fukuoka (’96, ’00)/Isetan Art Gallery, Tokyo/ Self-So Art Gallery, Osaka (’97, ’00)2002 Span Art Gallery, Tokyo2009 Cavin-Morris Gallery, New York2009 CCCD Gallery, Hong Kong2009 Gallery Asuka, Tokyo2010 Gallery Asuka, Tokyo2011 FuMonEn, Iwate 2011 Gallery Zero, Osaka2011 CCCD Gallery, HongKong2011 Gallery Asuka, Tokyo2012 “The Sound of Sculpture, the Voice of Clay - Yohei Nishimura Retrospective and the Art of Children Yohei Nishimura Met,” Aichi Prefectural Ceramics Museum, Aichi2012 “Yohei Nishimura Retropsective,” Gallery Mitsui, Tokyo2012 Gallery Asuka, Tokyo

G r o u p E x h i b i t i o n s1975 “3rd Annual Japan Ceramic Art Exhibition,” Diamaru Department Store, Tokyo (’77, ’79, ’81)1977 “A Bird’s-Eye View of Japanese Contemporary Art,” National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto1979 “14th Annual Japan Contemporary Art Exhibition,” Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Art (’83)1980 “Clay Work- From Ceramic to Sculpture,” Seibu Department Store, Otsu: Tokyo1981 “Clay Work,” Ikebukuro Seibu Department Store, Tokyo1982 “New Form of Japanese Ceramics ’82,” Roma, Faenza1983 “Contemporary Japanese Ceramics,” Koffler Gallery; toured in Canada “Art Today—Japan and England,” Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Art “Ceramics Today,” Ikebukuro Seibu Department Store1984 “Clay Art Today,” Yamaguchi Prefectural Museum of Art “Ceramics Today,” Ikebukuro Seibu Department Store, Tokyo1985 “Contemporary Ceramics,” Kure Museum of Art “The 2nd Asian Art Show,” Fukuoka City Art Museum1986 “Clay—Image and Form,” Seibu Department Store, Otsu; Tokyo “Competition of Contemporary Ceramics—Kazuo Yagi Prize ‘86” (’88), Kyoto Prefectural

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Culture and Art Hall1987 “Clay Sculptures from 1980’s In Japan,” Museum of Fine Arts, Gifu1988 “International Biennale of Paper Art II,” Leopold-Hoesch Museum, West Germany “East—West Contemporary Ceramics Exhibition,” Art Center of the Korean Culture and Arts Foundation, Seoul1989 “International Paper Works Exhibition,” Kyoto Cultural Museum, Kyoto “Europalia ’89 Japan, Contemporary Ceramics, Mons Museum of Arts, Belgium “The 2nd Ino Paper Works Exhibition,” Ino Museum of Paper1990 “The Game of Manners—Japanese Art in 1990, Contemporary Art Center, Mito “Japanese Clay Work Today,” Tochigi Prefectural Museum of Fine Arts, Utsunomiya “The Suntory Prize Exhibition ’90,” Suntory Museum of Art, Tokyo (’96)1992 “Messages From Seven Ceramic Artists ’92,” Keihan Gallery of Arts & Sciences, Moriguchi1993 “Clay Art Today 1950-1990,” Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art, Nagoya1994 “Materials—Emerging Visions,” Masuda Studio, Tokyo1995 “Locus of Culture After the War 1945-1995,” Meguro Museum of Art, Tokyo1996 “The Fine Arts of Bodily Sensation ’96, The Survival Tool Thinking With Artists,” Sakura City Museum of Art, Chiba1997 “Shiga Annual ’97 Paper Work,” Shiga Prefectural Museum of Modern Art Otsu “Art Scene 90-96,” Contemporary Art Center, Mito “Dialogue of the Spirit,” Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum1998 “Chiba Art Now ’97,” Sakura City Museum of Art, Chiba2000 “Department Store of Contemporary Art,” Yamanashi Prefectural Museum of Art, Kofu “The Eggs of Mobius,” CAP HOUSE, Kobe2001 “The Fine Arts of The Books,” Urawa Art Museum 2002 “The Legacy of Modern Ceramic Art Part 1: From Artisan to Artisit, The Evolution of Japanese Ceramic Art,” Museum of Modern Ceramic Art, Gifu2009 World Ceramic Biennale Korea2009 “The World of Transforming ‘Books’, “Urawa Art Museum, Saitama2010 “WakuWaku Museum – On Wondrous Ceramics,” Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park2010 “Expanding Art, “ Mie Prefectural Art Museum2010 “This is not a book, “ Urawa Art Museum, Saitama2011 “10 Year Anniversary – 10 Years of Collecting, Harmony between Humans and Nature,” Gunma Museum of Art2012 Contemporary Art Biennale of Fukushima2012 International Contemporary Art Exhibition “APO-CALY-PSE, “,Old Beardsilverware Clarens, Montreux,Switzerland

P u b l i c C o l l e c t i o n s-The Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo-The Yamaguchi Prefectural Museum of Art-Kure Municipal Museum of Art-Musee des Arts Decoratifs, Paris-The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo-Everson Museum, New York-The Museum of Modern Art, Wakayama-Victoria and Albert Museum, London-Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art-National Museum of Art, Osaka-Museum of Modern Art, Shiga-Takamatsu City Museum of Art-The Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park-Urawa Art Museum-Chiba City Museum of Art-Aichi Prefectural Ceramic Museum

-Gunma Museum of Art, Tatebayashi-Yamanashi Prefectural Museum of Art-Art Gallery Tokyo Opera City-The National Museum of Ceramic, Sevres

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W o r k s h o p s a n d L e c t u r e s1998 (Nov ’98-April ’99) Technical Skill & Development Centre for Blind and Disabled Workshop, Nepal1999 (June-July) Governor Morehead School Workshop, USA2000 (April) University of Michigan Workshop and Lecture, USA2001 (Feb) University of Leicester Lecture, UK (Dec) International Exhibition—Art for Visually Impaired Lecture, Korea2002 (Sept) Arts with the Disabled Association Workshop, Hong Kong2005 (Nov) Arts with the Disabled Association Workshop, Hong Kong2009 “On Japan’s Art and People with Disabilities” Seoul, Korea2010 “Outsider Art in Japan and the Western World,” Symposium of Rising Starts of International Arts Festival, Hong Kong2011 “Distance between Heart and Psyche – Mind Painters,” Central Plaza, Olympian City, Hong Kong

P u b l i s h e d W o r k s1984 Let’s Make What We’ve Never Seen, Kaisei-Sha1990 Yohei Nishimura 1975-1990, Gallery Press1991 The Space Inside the Palm, Kaisei-Sha1992 Toh Yohei Nishimura, Kyoto Syoin1995 Form to be Seen by Hand, Hakusuisya2003 Arts of Misunoki, Tohou Publishers