Yoshihiro Suda / Takehito Koganezawa

'Ma', which translates as "space", can also mean "time". In the context of the exhibition, the title represents the artists' wish to explore that which is liminal, on the threshold or boundary.

Yoshihiro Suda makes exquisitely carved flowers and weeds. He will include four such works in his joint show with Takehito Koganezawa. Usually placed in large empty spaces and set into curious nooks and crannies that are easily overlooked, these delicate, astonishingly life-like objects encourage the viewer to look more closely at things that one might not normally notice. In the context of such open and empty settings, the flowers take on a spatial as well as sculptural dimension; the void around the objects is an important element of Suda’s work. Life-like to the point of almost total deception, Suda’s art is in one sense surreal, questioning the relationships between appearance and reality, and between the living and the eternal - an exploration of "in-between-ness". Self-taught, Suda does not consider himself to be working in the Japanese tradition of master craftsmen; he sees himself as a contemporary artist. Suda will also be showing a series of drawings for the first time, which form a conversation with Koganezawa.

Takehito Koganezawa is well known for his drawings, video works, sound pieces and occasional performances. His drawings have a sense of emptiness; fragments of objects and figures float in an illusionary space, often appearing in some way strangely connected in their imaginary world. Koganezawa’s interest in the relationship of the depicted object to time and space forms the starting point for much of his work. Again, as with Suda, space - both the large empty space in which his work is usually displayed as well as the space within his drawings - plays a central role in his art. This perception of space is linked to the idea of nothingness, which is an important concept to Takehito; "My work is about the hole. Like the hole of a doughnut becomes visible because of the doughnut, in my work I create the doughnut to get closer to the hole." New video works by Koganezawa will also be included in the show.

The Douglas Hyde Gallery gratefully acknowledges the warm support and assistance of Friedrich Loock and Wohnmaschine, Berlin. Pressetext

Yoshihiro Suda and Takehito Koganezawa: 'Ma'