David Richard Gallery is pleased to announce “Construction / Material,” a solo exhibition of paintings and installation artworks by New York-based artist Tadaaki Kuwayama on view from December 4, 2019 through January 31, 2020 at David Richard Gallery located at 211 East 121 Street, New York, New York 10035, P: 212-882-1705. The presentation contains 6 significant works that span from 1965 to 1999, including: two monochrome acrylic paintings on canvas subdivided into quadrants with aluminum strips from 1965; a larger silver monochrome acrylic painting on canvas bisected with an “X” made of aluminum strips from 1974; a large painting measuring 84 inches square comprised of 6 vertical panels of alternating metallic brown and grey paint joined together with aluminum strips; an installation work from 1992 comprised of 12 panels measuring 24 inches square and in three sets of four metallic colors including: pink, yellow, blue and green on Bakelite board; and last, a large installation work from 1999 consisting of 12 planks of anodized aluminum measuring 86.5 x 7 inches each in alternating colors of pink and silver.

Kuwayama is known for his minimalist artworks that are made of reductive shapes that function as building blocks. The shapes are transformed into artworks by the artist assembling them into constructions of multi-component individual works as well as site-specific installations that transform a space with an immersive experience.

Color is the focus and primary element for Kuwayama and the reductive shapes are the vessels for the pigment. He explores different materials for the supports as the provide unique interactions between the pigment and light, thus the colors shift and change. His use of metallic paints and anodized aluminum create entirely different viewing experiences as the color reflects or shifts with changes in the light source, angle of the light as well as distance and position of the viewer. Scale became another important parameter for Kuwayama’s works. As the constructions became larger, turning corners and viewed on multiple walls simultaneously, the colors were different on different walls or even along the same wall due to the interplay of the pigment, physical surface of the supports, source and angle of the light and the viewer’s position and engagement.

Monochrome painting was and is not the focus of Kuwayama’s artwork per se, it became the vehicle along with the reductive shapes of squares and rectangles that allowed him to the explore color in subtle and elegant ways. His toolkit for such explorations included a host of materials (canvas, acrylic, metallic paint, Bakelite, aluminum, titanium) along with his constructions and scale of those constructions. The other key variables that are less in his control over time, even with site specific installations, include light and the viewer for reasons noted above. The combination of these elements creates powerful, thoughtful artworks that are serene and meditative, while exhilarating and dynamic at the same time, albeit low key.

The descriptions and discussions of the artworks are not important to Kuwayama. He is concerned with the final objects themselves when assembled and installed. Then, it becomes about the viewing experience, challenging perceptions of color, space and infinity. That is why his artworks are reductive and minimal, with no reference or representation, detached all emotion and subjectivity so that it becomes an individual experience and comprehension for each viewer.

Associated Exhibitions

• Tadaaki Kuwayama Construction / Material
  January 22, 2020 - January 31, 2020
  MORE INFO

Associated News

• September 17, 2023
  Tadaaki Kuwayama, 91, Dies; Painter Who Carved His Own Spare Path
  New York Times
  By Will Heinrich
  September 16, 2023
  


• August 29, 2023
  TADAAKI KUWAYAMA (1932–2023)


• December 5, 2019
  Tadaaki Kuwayama
  4 Dec 2019 — 31 Jan 2020
  at the David Richard Gallery in New York, United States
  
  


• November 19, 2018
  Asian roots of Minimalism explored in exhibition at National Gallery and ArtScience Museum
  The Straits Times, 11/19/2018
  Akshita Nanda