Kensuke Todo Gradient 2008
Kensuke Todo 2008
Gradient
King Street Gallery on William
10am – 6pm Tuesday – Saturday 177 William St Darlinghurst NSW 2010 Australia T: 61 2 9360 9727 F: 61 2 9331 4458 E: kingst@bigpond.com W: www.kingstreetgallery.com.au
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Mitchell studio 2008
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Artist statement Space is an essential element of everything I make. I came to Australia wanting to understand western conceptions of space and how they were different from the Japanese approach. What I found in trying to incorporate these ideas into my work was that the gap was bigger than I had expected, and more difficult to define. Japanese architects Arata Isozaki and Atsushi Ueda argue that the Japanese idea of space differs from the western perception because in Japan space is connected to the soul. Originally the idea of respect for the heavens did not exist. Japanese indigenous people thought that gods lived not in heaven, but beyond the ocean. In keeping with this, the Japanese sacred axis is drawn horizontally rather than vertically, and it is the earth and ocean that are revered. With the opening up of Japan in the late 19th century, a western concept of space was introduced and a new word, kukan, began to be used to describe it. Today kukan is the most commonly used word for space but I wonder how confronting the change was, and how it influenced current Japanese understanding of the concept. The contradiction between Japanese and western spatial concepts has become an important feature in the way I think about my work. Contemplating vertical and horizontal axes gave me the idea of using fixtures such as stairs and escalators, which suggest vertical movement, and modifying or presenting them in unusual ways. Distorting the space surrounding the objects allows me to incorporate horizontal movement into an ostensibly vertical form. Although no longer functional, I like to think the stairs or escalators retain a sense of human movement – I imagine people experiencing the particular freedoms, constraints and interpretations of gravity connected with each work. Kensuke Todo
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Takashimaya dream 2008 mild steel 46.8 x 38 x 58 cm
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Travelator, Osaka Station 2008 mild steel 89 x 63.5 x 19.5 cm
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Loft 2008 mild steel 201 x 69.1 x 75.1 cm
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Indefinite 2008 mild steel 106.6 x 79 x 54 cm
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Parallel 2008 mild steel 92.5 x 64.8 x 40 cm
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Concourse 2008 mild steel 30.9 x 175.1 x 23 cm
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Takashimaya Department Store, Kyoto 2007 mild steel 43.6 x 71 x 16.3 cm
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Basement 2008 mild steel 51.7 x 61.5 x 31.5 cm
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Two walls 2007 mild steel 39.4 x 24 x 39.3 cm
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Two floors 2008 mild steel 37.3 x 24 x 37.3 cm
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Landings 2008 mild steel 90 x 309 x 198 cm
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Apex 2008 mild steel 105 x 77.6 x 37 cm
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Kensuke Todo
Born
1975, Kyoto, Japan
Education 2004 2002 2001 1999-2000
Graduate residency, Canberra School of Art, ANU Master of Arts (Visual Arts), Canberra School of Art, ANU Master of Visual Arts, Canberra School of Art, ANU Bachelor of Arts, Kyoto Seika University, Japan Exchange program, Canberra School of Art, ANU
Solo Exhibitions 2008 Gradient, King Street Gallery on William, Sydney 2006 confined spaces, king street gallery on burton, sydney 2004 Ambiguity, M16 Gallery, Canberra 2000 Kensuke Todo: The works in Australia, Gallery ITEZA, Kyoto Japan Selected Group Exhibitions 2008 Compositions, King Street Gallery on William Untitled, Canberra Contemporary Art Space, Canberra, ACT Urban, King Street Gallery on William Wilson HTM National Art Prize, Sophie Gannon Gallery, Melbourne; Grantpirrie Gallery, Sydney; Jan Manton Art, Brisbane 2006 Somebody shows something to Someone, Canberra Contemporary Art Space, ACT 2005 Sculpture 2005, Defiance Gallery, Sydney 2004 33rd Alice Prize, organized by the Alice Springs Art Foundation, NT The Annual 6” Miniature Sculpture Show 2004, Defiance Gallery, Sydney Horizons, Foyer Gallery Canberra School of Art, ANU 2003 The Annual 6” Miniature Sculpture Show 2003, Defiance Gallery Witnessing to Silence: Art and Human Rights, Foyer Gallery, Canberra School of Art, ANU, ACT New Sculpture, New Contemporaries, Sydney 2002 Oxygen, Main Gallery Canberra School of Art, ANU 2001 Final Graduate exhibition, Kyoto Art Museum, Japan 1999 Gulaga 8, Foyer gallery Canberra School of Art, ANU
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Commissioned Work 2005 Blue Gum Community School, Canberra Awards 2004 2008
M16 studio residency and exhibition Second Prize Wilson HTM National Art Prize
Collections Artbank, Australia Blue Gum Community School Canberra Arthur Roe Collection, Melbourne Resolution Capital Ltd, Sydney Bibliography 2008 Dunn, Jackie: Across the country, state by state, Artbank Catalogue, March p14 Ham, Sofie: Wilson HTM National Art Prize Finalist Exhibition, ArtsHub Australia, Feb 6 Wilson HTM National Art Prize, artworkers, Feb Wellington, Robert, The shape of things to come’ Art Market Report, Issue 29 Third quarter p41 Street Shift, Wins Wilson HTM National Art Prize, artworkers, Feb 14 2007 Bevan, Robert: Art & Events, Australia Vogue Living, Jan/Feb. p 74 Adolph, Fiona: Artbank, Insite Magazine p50
Artworks photographed by David Paterson.
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King Street Gallery on William
10am – 6pm Tuesday – Saturday 177 William St Darlinghurst NSW 2010 Australia T: 61 2 9360 9727 F: 61 2 9331 4458 E: kingst@bigpond.com W: www.kingstreetgallery.com.au Director: Robert Linnegar Director: Randi Linnegar Member of the Australian Commercial Galleries Assocation Registered Valuer with the Australian Government Taxations Incentives for the Arts Scheme