Makoto Ofune
Makoto Ofune
Charlotte Nourse on Makoto Ofune
The lamp once out Cool stars enter The window frame. Natsume S seki (1867–1916) As the day draws to a close, the light fades to night and the mist rises over Lake Biwa, Makoto Ofune is in deep space. Without the distracting brilliance of day, the dark, quiet hours are the most potent time for working. Aware only of his breathing, his heartbeat and his body temperature, he feels his conscious existence only faintly. He describes a feeling of becoming empty, a state he calls Mu meaning nothingness or nonexistence. Freed from the consciousness of seeing, he allows the cool stars to enter. In this meditative state he gets lost in time, losing track of it entirely. Nothing is rushed, creation takes time. Boundaries become blurred and he feels united with the artwork, the materials, his surroundings. As time becomes more pliable, hours can slip by in the blink of an eye, a minute can last an eternity. For Ofune this experience is similar to when he devotes himself to nature. As he walks through the landscape, everything is connected: human, rock, water, plant, space and time. Ofune lives in Shiga prefecture near Kyoto, close to Lake Biwa, the largest and oldest lake in Japan. A seemingly vast sea, at times restless and at other times still and eerily silent: the expanse is like a prehistoric ocean, unchanged since the beginning of time. His studio is nearby in a sacred place at the foot of a mountain where he often walks amongst the trees, plants, and ruins of an old castle. From here he can look down at the distant lake where endless waves lap the shore. Since their earliest history the Japanese have had a deep respect for nature and have lived closely with it. It is a fundamental part of their psyche, shaped in part by Shinto, Japan’s native religion. These ancient beliefs regard everything in the natural world from water, wind and mountains to flowers and the tiniest of insects to be divine spirits. But nowadays most Japanese people live in heavily built environments and have lost touch with this ancient relationship. Like many in the world, their experience of time, space and reality is largely mediated through technology and information systems, at which Japan has been at the forefront. But this old connection to the natural world may still be deeply rooted in Japanese subjectivity, just below the conscious surface. Set against the increasing pervasiveness of tech, Ofune has made a deliberate choice to take a more analogue approach, to re-
[ Opposite ] Reflection field - Hikotaki, Toba #4, 2020 Powdered mineral pigments on stone 8 x 13 x 14.5 cm | 3 ⅛ x 5 ⅛ x 5 ¾ in
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engage with old Japanese knowledges and wisdoms, and to live and work close to nature in a simpler more traditional way. He works intuitively: waking, working, eating and sleeping according to the ebb and flow of his creative energy, internal circadian rhythms and the demands of his artworks. Although evening is the most productive time, he will work throughout the day appreciating its different moments and energies. He can work for sometimes up to 12 hours in a day, often starting before breakfast if he has slept at his studio. In the morning, as the day unfolds, natural light pours in through the windows of the studio from where he watches the movement of the trees, cloud shadows on the mountain, transformation of the seasons, the changing light, stars emerging and the phases of the moon. He sees time passing in endless revolving cycles. He talks about being able to feel the sound of nature - the animals, insects and birds, the wind through the leaves; his antennae finely tuned to the most sensitive vibrations. But in order to work, he must sometimes dim the stimuli by hanging a white cloth over the window in the room where he works, allowing himself the space to empty his mind, to escape time and to focus. Like walking through the mountains, Ofune regards the creative journey and its processes as being as important as the finished artwork. Every aspect of his daily routine is valued, and modest rituals are an essential part of his work: from the journey to the studio, making tea, preparing materials, tending his moss garden, mixing pigments, rearranging objects and furniture, walking in nature, and of course, painting. Art and life are one harmonious entity. Ofune works alone without an assistant and prepares his materials himself. Unlike many contemporary Japanese artists who have adopted Western conceptual approaches to art, Ofune trained in the Japanese traditional painting technique - Nihonga, believing that learning classical techniques would enable him to express himself more freely as a Japanese artist. As well as using traditional materials such as handmade paper and wood, he learnt how to work with mineral pigments called iwa-enogu made from pulverised rock and used in Japan since ancient times. He uses these traditional materials within a contemporary framework to create installations of atmospheric abstract paintings and three-dimensional rock works. To create the pigments he powders mineral rock by hand, in a process that takes considerable time, patience and skill. Depending on the colour he wants, he takes a rock such as cinnabar, azurite or malachite and using a hammer he
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breaks it into pieces. Then he uses an iron pestle and mortar to crush the stones into smaller and smaller fragments, and then a ceramic pestle and mortar to pound them into more delicate particles by eroding corners and rounding off edges. He then sorts the varying particles according to size by placing them in water and separating them according to the speed in which they sink to the bottom of the bowl. Each size has its own colour: the finer the particle, the paler the colour. He makes the surfaces for painting using hemp paper mounted on wooden board. The paper is handmade by specialist craftsmen using traditional techniques. Ofune has worked closely with them on his specifications, and they have developed a unique paper together that provides him with the perfect foundation for his work. When he is ready to start painting, he heats glue made from animal gelatine known as nikawa on a small electric hob. Once the glue is warm, he combines it with some of the crushed pigment in a small ceramic bowl, mixing them together with his finger. The glue binds and holds the pigment, supporting the particles without obscuring them, so the surface of the painting retains the raw texture and appearance of the particles, imparting a three-dimensional quality to the work. Only small amounts of the colour preparation can be made at any one time because it has to be used quickly before the glue cools and sets. The pigments are applied with paint brushes of varying sizes some large and sweeping, others small and delicate. Each layer of pigment has to dry before the next layer can be applied. Unlike Western oil or watercolour paints the pigments cannot be mixed together to create new colours, instead colours are mixed by layering one on top of the other. This creates local colour where two colours next to each other interact to create the illusion of a third colour, as used by the Pointillists in 19th century France. The pigments are difficult to control so Ofune works with them on their own terms rather than attempting to subjugate them to some higher aesthetic demand. He lets the material speak for itself. Pigments are also applied to rocks: crystal, rhyolite, basalt and cinnabar. Ofune finds the rocks whilst out walking in the countryside near his studio, or sometimes far away in another part of Japan or the world. He chooses them intuitively based on their shape and their presence. He enters a sort of dialogue with the stone, listening to its voice rather than his artistic will, as if the stone itself were alive. He chooses a distinctive plane of the rock that he feels will provide him with the right surface for painting. Regarding these pieces more like paintings than sculpture,
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he meticulously applies layer-upon-layer of mineral pigment to its surface. Sometimes using gold powder or leaf as well as concentrated colour, the rocks become jewel-like in their appearance. In part manmade, they give the appearance of natural phenomena, in a similar way to the Bonsai: both holding, in exquisite balance, a veneration of nature and a desire to influence it. And like a Bonsai master slowly cultivates his arboreal creations, Ofune will nurture and develop his artworks, sometimes focusing on one piece at a time, at other times working on several in the same series together. The paintings can take three to four months to complete, occasionally up to six months; the rock pieces take between one to two months. In rare cases a painting will evolve over several years: creation followed by exhibition, followed by return to the studio for further development. Aided by the often repetitious nature of his working processes, Ofune seeks out meditative conditions where his consciousness is able to slowly disappear and he can connect with material, picture plane and environment. He feels it is important to exist somewhere between the material and the artwork, the known and the unknown, like a medium who occupies the threshold between the spirit and material world. But once the artwork is finally complete Ofune will separate himself from the communion and the distinctive energy of each work. In the exhibition space the pieces stand alone as individual entities. Aware that each work will have its own presence and relationship to each other, as well to the dynamic created by the presence of human bodies within the space, Ofune pays great attention to the size, thickness and form of each painting and to the contrasting scale and dimensions of each rock. He also gives equal thought to their placement, taking into account not only on their internal space but the external space around them. At Olivier Malingue, Ofune presents a continuation of three main series in his practice that he has been working on over the last three years: Reflection Field, Wave and Void. Shrouded in semi-darkness the gallery space is punctuated by spot-lit rocks and larger paintings on the wall. The first encounter is with a new development in Ofune’s practice: wall pieces that gently curve and protrude into the gallery space, an expansion of a long-term series of work entitled Wave. A swelling body of water, an undulation in the fabric of the universe: the world around us is filled with waves, visible and invisible; infinite disturbances propagating energy through matter. The work is about movement and requires movement through the space that surrounds
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[ Opposite ] Reflection field - Basalt, 2020 Powdered gold pigment on basalt 12 x 9 x 8.5 cm | 4 ¾ x 3 ½ x 3 ⅜ in
it in order to view it at differing angles. Inspired in form by the traditional Japanese folding screen which occupies and divides space, such objects are about the seen and the unseen. Here you cannot comprehend the work as a whole from any one angle, instead it is about the attempt to find understanding that is important. Paradoxically it is the convexity of these pieces that allows immersion in their spatiality. As we move around them Ofune quietly encourages an awareness of the space, of our own bodies in space and our relationship to other objects within that space. It becomes a dynamic bodily experience, rather than simply a visual one. Slowly such sensations and perceptions begin to unfold, and awareness grows that we have stepped out of normal, measurable time escaping the super-fibre-optic speed of digitised reality. In the darkened gallery, time has slowed right down and we start to find ourselves in our bodies. Like the artist walking through nature or making the work in his studio, we become aware of our breathing, our heartbeat, our internal time. Through the work Ofune invites us to share this meditative experience. The Wave series is a considerable, ongoing body of work that represents a sustained and profound search for the infinite through intuitive inquiry into the nature of time and space. The deep rippling blues of the convex pieces, give way to the cool, silvery greys of other works in the series. Immersed within their internal space we can feel their fine watery mists, shifting formations of cloud, and shimmering light particles filtering through the spray of their atmospheres. It is easy to see the influence of Turner’s meteorological explorations and Hasegawa T haku’s folding screen painting Pine Trees (c.1595) where large areas of panel are completely given over to the abstraction of mountain mists, marked only by the occasional pine wafting into view. Despite their abstraction, there is a sense of place in Ofune’s paintings, but it is not limited to a specific location. The work takes on the viewer’s own memories and reality, reflecting it back to them. Like porous rock it absorbs thoughts, energies, emotions and becomes activated. As if breathing with life: the inanimate becomes animate. Only at this point does the work achieve its existential purpose.
Sometimes Ofune will hang works on the wall or the ceiling, at other times pieces are placed on a plinth or on the floor. This is a deliberate replication of how he situates himself spatially within the natural landscape: looking towards the horizon, standing at the water’s edge, scanning over cloudy climes or gazing up at the infinite expanding cosmos. Looking down at the ground he will focus on the smallest of earthly details. In Japan even a grain of soil is valued and worthy of consideration; an attitude which has been formed and underscored by the Buddhist belief in reincarnation, where a caterpillar or a leaf could be your ancestor or your future self. From the hazy, blurred perspectives of Ofune’s wall paintings, we are drawn further into the space by the intricate detail of his rock pieces. Spotlights function to emphasise their distinct objecthood in contrast to the space around them. Appearing to be placed at random, the rocks, like those of Zen gardens such as Ry an-ji, have in fact been carefully positioned to inspire and encourage meditation. And as if floating in a rock garden, the more time spent looking, the more an awareness grows of the negative space between the rocks. A consciousness of place arises and becomes experiential. Our imagination starts to stir the emptiness, and like the primordial, shapeless matter at the beginning of Japan’s creation myth, particles are roused and begin to evolve. Like geodes or rare artefacts the rocks also demand closer examination. As the light falls and refracts on facets and particles in shifting opalescence, their magnetic pull draws us into their miniature topographies. The colours are so intense that they are almost other worldly, and the stones feel as though they are imbued with the sacred. Some of the rocks are volcanic, others sedimentary, but all are tens or hundreds of millions of years old. Named after specific geographical locations or geological descriptors, their provenance draws space and time into one concentrated point, each rock a unique piece of land and memory of earth history from a prehistoric era. Stepping in-and-out from the intense concentration of looking, to a more embodied awareness of space, leads to a sense of having been lost within the work causing slippages and distortions in our perception. Moving into the deepest part of the gallery, hanging on the wall is a large
[ Above ] Zen garden, Ry an-ji Temple, Kyoto, Japan [ Opposite ] Hasegawa T haku 1539 – 1610 Sh rin-zu by bu – Pine Trees, c. 1595 Pair of six-panel folding screens Ink on paper 156.8 x 712 cm | 61 ¾ x 280 ¼ in
Charlotte Nourse is a writer and illustrator based in London with extensive national and international experience in developing and producing critical contemporary art projects. After studying History of Art at Manchester University she has supported artists through writing, commissioning, exhibitions, publishing, symposia and engagement programmes and projects including at Arts Council England (2001–2004); Cubitt Gallery (2004–2006) and as a trustee of Cubitt Artists (2009–2012); Frieze Art Fair (2006–2008); Stephen Friedman Gallery (2008–2009); The Showroom (2014–2019) including a collaboration with Chisenhale Gallery and Studio Voltaire How to work together (2014–2016) and most recently the international symposium Soot Breath: On Land, Law and Bodies in collaboration with the Department of Visual Cultures, Goldsmiths, University of London and the Anti-Colonial Methods Project at Critical + Creative Social Justice Studies Cluster, University of British Columbia.
circle encrusted with layers of blue pigment graduating centrifugally from light to dark, spinning in an eternal motionless orbit. A mass of countless particles, like a cosmic dust cloud which we cannot catch all at once with our eyes, as they track continuously over its surface. A surface which simultaneously appears as a rippling film of water. As such this inability to visually grasp the whole work is intentional, an attempt by the artist to free us from the consciousness of looking, opening our mind to a different set of temporal and spatial relationships. The piece is called Void which speaks of the absence of matter, playfully contradicting its evident materiality. The paradox is further highlighted by the shadow that the work casts on the wall behind it, reminding us that we are in fact looking at a flat disc set slightly away from the wall. We are saved, however, from this abrupt realisation that threatens to jolt us back to rationality, by the inherent ambiguity of the work. As we stare into an abyss that is waiting to be filled with our imagination, or a galactic liquid mass inviting us to dip below the surface of our consciousness, we are yet again reminded that space is not empty but full. It is full of matter that we can see and matter that we can’t see. Dark matter, dark energy, dark fluid: the mysterious, uncertain and unknown all the while frustrating and challenging our view of world. The experience, however, is not one of frustration but a welcome return to a deeper, instinctive knowledge inside ourselves. Here as elsewhere Ofune explores the Hindu concepts of Atman – the eternal soul - and Brahman - the ultimate reality in the universe. Atman is Brahman, the microcosm of the macrocosm inside us, the absolute truth within. Although not religious, Ofune draws on spiritual teachings and philosophies in his metaphysical quest for harmony and the infinite, often creating site-specific work in sacred locations such as temples, shrines and churches. Here in the gallery he generates a similarly contemplative space that requires time and reflection for its layered complexity to unfold. In the quiet meditative darkness, particles float like phosphenes in the mind’s eye: and the past, present and future, external and internal, void and mass, all collapse and are drawn into one subjective moment, as if by gravitational force. And as directions, distances, times and experiences come together, we find Ofune once more in the studio, and we are with him as he grinds pigments, drinks tea, mixes warm glue and azurite with his finger, selects his paintbrushes and looks out at Lake Biwa with darkness falling and his mind awakening.
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[ Previous spread ] Reflection field - Cinnabar, 2020 Powdered mineral pigments on cinnabar 7 x 4 x 5 cm | 2 ž x 1 � x 2 in
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[ Above ] Reflection field - Basalt, 2020 Powdered gold pigment on basalt 12 x 9 x 8.5 cm | 4 ¾ x 3 ½ x 3 ⅜ in
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[ Also see detail on pg7 ]
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[ Above ] Reflection field - Cinnabar, 2020 Powdered mineral pigments on cinnabar 7 x 4 x 5 cm | 2 ¾ x 1 ⅝ x 2 in
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[ Also see detail on pg10 —11]
[ Above and left ] Reflection field - Crystal, 2018 Powdered mineral pigments on crystal 7 x 11 x 9 cm | 2 ¾ x 4 ⅜ x 3 ½ in
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[ Above and left ] Reflection field - Hikotaki, Toba #2, 2018 – 2020 Powdered mineral pigments on stone 8 x 11 x 6 cm | 3 ⅛ x 4 ⅜ x 2 ⅜ in
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[ Above ] Reflection field - Hikotaki, Toba #4, 2020 Powdered mineral pigments on stone 8 x 13 x 14.5 cm | 3 ⅛ x 5 ⅛ x 5 ¾ in
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[ Also see detail on pg 2 ]
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[ Above ] Reflection field - Kannonji, Omi #2, 2020 Powdered mineral pigments on stone 19 x 12 x 13.5 cm | 7 ½ x 4 ¾ x 5 ¼ in
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[ Above and left ] Reflection field - Koto Rhyolite #1, 2019 Powdered mineral pigments on koto rhyolite 26 x 34 x 22 cm | 10 ¼ x 13 ⅜ x 8 ⅝ in
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[ Above ] VOID 0, 2012 – 2018 Powdered mineral pigments on hemp paper, mounted on wood ø 136 cm | ø 53 ½ in
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[ Above ] WAVE #120, 2020 Powdered mineral pigments on hemp paper, mounted on wood 126 x 366 x 14 cm | 49 ⅝ x 144 ⅛ x 5 ½ in
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[ Above and left ] WAVE #121, 2020 Powdered mineral pigments on hemp paper, mounted on wood 39.5 x 77 x 7.5 cm | 15 ½ x 30 Ÿ x 3 in
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[ Above and left ] WAVE #117, 2020 Powdered mineral pigments on hemp paper, mounted on wood 46 x 67 cm | 18 ⅛ x 26 ⅜ in
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[ Above and left ] WAVE #118, 2020 Powdered mineral pigments on hemp paper, mounted on wood 46 x 67 cm | 18 ⅛ x 26 ⅜ in
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[ Above and left ] WAVE #119, 2020 Powdered mineral pigments on hemp paper, mounted on wood 46 x 67 cm | 18 ⅛ x 26 ⅜ in
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[ Above ] STILL WAVE #15, 2019 Powdered mineral pigments on hemp paper, mounted on wood 60 x 51 cm | 23 ⅝ x 20 ⅛ in
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Makoto Ofune 1977 Born in Osaka, Japan 2000 Graduated from Kyoto University of Education, Department of Fine Arts with a major in Japanese painting 2001 Completed the course of postgraduate research, Kyoto University of Education, Department of Fine Arts 2016 Awarded the Fellowship of Overseas Study Programme for Artists by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Japanese Government
Solo Exhibitions / Projects 2019 Osaka, Outenin, Chuku Shiga, Yokaichi Arts and Cultural Center, Scene by Particle 2018 Paris, Philharmonie de Paris, Japonismes 2018 - GAGAKU Reigakusha et Kaiji Moriyama 2017 New York, Yoshii Gallery, Makoto Ofune: Wave
2015 New York, Yoshii Gallery, Eternal Kyoto, Kamigamo-jinja Shinto Shrine, Void - Presence of node
Osaka, Gallery Ami, Makoto Ofune
Kyoto, Simogamo-jinja Shinto Shrine, Raw - Beyond the flow
Tokyo, Nagai Gallery, Makoto Ofune
2014 Ashiya, Ashiya Schule, Inside one
2005 Kyoto, Art space Kan, From Zero to Zero
Paris, Gallerie Akie Arichi, La mer du coeur
2004 2013 Osaka, Gallery Kanoko, Center of Kyoto, Kamigamo-jinja Shinto Shrine, Void the heart Shiga, Mamekou - bettei, Makoto Ofune
Tokyo, Gallery Gan, Eternal
Tokyo, Traumaris | Space, Subconscious
Kyoto, Neutron, Eternal
2012 Shiga, Gallery Sara, Voyage IntĂŠrieur
2003 Tokyo, Gallery Gan, Vibration of the heart
Kyoto, Galerie Syokando, Circulation
Kyoto, Neutro, Vibration of the heart
2011 Kyoto, Kyoto Art Center, Colors of Seasons. The 26th National Cultural Festival
2002 Kyoto, Space Alternative Gallery, Formless Form Kyoto, Dohjidai Gallery, Sanzui
2010 Tokyo, Neutron Tokyo, Wave 2009 Kyoto, Neutron, Principle
2001 Kyoto, Space Alternative Gallery, Makoto Ofune
Tokyo, Neutron Tokyo, Prism
Group Exhibitions
2008 Shiga, Ten. lay. kyu, Breeze from somewhere far
2018 Krakow, Muzeum Sztuki i Techniki Japo skiej Manggha, Tatsuno Art Project
Kyoto, Art space Kan, The Nowhere London, Olivier Malingue Gallery, Makoto Ofune 2016 Paris, Église Saint Merry, Particules en Symphonie
Tokyo, Gallery Koyanagi, Colors 2007 Kyoto, Neutron, Time-moment-time 2006 Kyoto, Neutron, Makoto Ofune
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2017 Nuremberg, Neues Museum, On the art of building a teahouse Excursions into Japanese aesthetics
Roma, Guido Reni District, A. I. Studio (Altaroma), Makoto Ofune × Aurore Thibout 2016 Paris, Immanence, J’ai entendu dire 2015 Kyoto, Kyoto Art Center, Utsuwa et Utsushi Kyoto, Yuuhisai Koudoukan, Passage - Makoto Ofune and Aurore Thibout Kyoto, Impact Hub Kyoto, Material and Perception : in search of the roots of Mono-ha Paris, La Maison de la culture du Japon à Paris, Réceptacle du passage 2014 Gifu, Gallery Voice, Object Matters Hyogo, Brewry Building 11,12 Tatsuno Art Project 2014 Japan-Poland Contemporary Arts Festival Kyoto, Yuuhisai Koudoukan, Shadows of Time - Makoto Ofune and Anne & Patrick Poirier Kyoto, Yukosousya, A Sequel From Mono to Mono - Reflection and Vessel 2013 Tokyo, Gallery Koyanagi, Paintings
Shiga, Murakumo-gosho Zuiryu-ji Temple, Biwako Biennale 2012
Rostok, Kunsthalle Rostok, Art Rainbow Project
Aichi, Art Lab Aichi, Utakata Aichi, Jyokaisou, Utsusemi
2006 Osaka, Artcourt Gallery, Art Court Frontier 2006
Tokyo, Gallery Koyanagi, Summer Show
Shiga, Borderless Art Museum NO-MA, Ugomekukokoro
Kyoto, Hotel Anteroom Kyoto, The Cosmos as Metaphor
2004 Osaka, Osaka Contemporary Art Center, Gallerism 2004
Kyoto, Institut Franco-Japonais du Kansai, Architecture et Impermanence
Paris, Carrousel du Louvre, Art Paris
2011 Kyoto, Yukosousya, Monokeiro 11 · 11
Toyama, Gallery BAU, Resonance The moon flows with the water
Tokyo, Shirokane Art Complex, Shuffle
2003 Toyama, Gallery Bau, Resonance The moon flows with the water
Paris, Espace Topographie de l’art, Repères 2010 Kyoto, Kyohakuin, Monokeiro
Public Collections JAKUETS Co. Ltd. - Inuhariko Lab, Fukui
Shiga, Oga-Shoten, Biwako Biennale 2010, Magical World Tokyo, Tokyo International Forum, Art Fair Tokyo Kyoto, The Kyoto University Museum, From Mono to Mono 2009 Paris, Espace Topographie de l’art, The infinity square of one
Bunyukaku pavilion - Tochoji Temple, Tokyo The Parkhouse Nakanoshima Tower, Osaka Daiko Technical Research Institute, Osaka Villa La Coste (Château la Coste), Le Puy-Sainte-Réparade Four Seasons Hotel Kyoto
Kyoto, Yukosousya, Chaosmos Gifu, Gallery Caption, Pink Noise 2012 Kyoto, Institut Franco-Japonais du Kansai, Nuit Blanche Kyoto 2012
2008 Tokyo, Bunkamura Gallery, Point Ephemere 2007 Shiga, Nishikatu Shuzou Shiborikura, Biwako Biennale 2007
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The Ritz-Carlton Kyoto Park Axis Premier Nihonbashi Muromachi, Tokyo St Regis Osaka Hotels, Osaka
List of Works p. 13, p. 7 (detail), p. 27 (installation view) Reflection field - Basalt, 2020 Powdered gold pigment on basalt 12 x 9 x 8.5 cm | 4 ¾ x 3 ½ x 3 ⅜ in p.15, pp. 10 –11 (detail), p. 27 (installation view) Reflection field - Cinnabar, 2020 Powdered mineral pigments on cinnabar 7 x 4 x 5 cm | 2 ¾ x 1 ⅝ x 2 in p. 17, p. 16 (detail) Reflection field - Crystal, 2018 Powdered mineral pigments on crystal 7 x 11 x 9 cm | 2 ¾ x 4 ⅜ x 3 ½ in p. 19, p. 18 (detail), p. 27 (installation view) Reflection field - Hikotaki, Toba #2, 2018 – 2020 Powdered mineral pigments on stone 8 x 11 x 6 cm | 3 ⅛ x 4 ⅜ x 2 ⅜ in p. 21, p. 2 (detail) Reflection field - Hikotaki, Toba #4, 2020 Powdered mineral pigments on stone 8 x 13 x 14.5 cm | 3 ⅛ x 5 ⅛ x 5 ¾ in p. 23, p. 1 (detail), p. 26 (installation view) Reflection field - Kannonji, Omi #2, 2020 Powdered mineral pigments on stone 19 x 12 x 13.5 cm | 7 ½ x 4 ¾ x 5 ¼ in p. 25, p. 24 (detail), pp. 30–31 (installation view) Reflection field - Koto Rhyolite #1, 2019 Powdered mineral pigments on koto rhyolite 26 x 34 x 22 cm | 10 ¼ x 13 ⅜ x 8 ⅝ in
pp. 32–33, pp. 36–37 (installation view) WAVE #120, 2020 Powdered mineral pigments on hemp paper, mounted on wood 126 x 366 x 14 cm | 49 ⅝ x 144 ⅛ x 5 ½ in p. 35, p. 34 (detail), pp. 36–37 (installation view) WAVE #121, 2020 Powdered mineral pigments on hemp paper, mounted on wood 39.5 x 77 x 7.5 cm | 15 ½ x 30 ¼ x 3 in p. 39, p. 38 (detail) WAVE #117, 2020 Powdered mineral pigments on hemp paper, mounted on wood 46 x 67 cm | 18 ⅛ x 26 ⅜ in p. 41, p. 40 (detail) WAVE #118, 2020 Powdered mineral pigments on hemp paper, mounted on wood 46 x 67 cm | 18 ⅛ x 26 ⅜ in p. 43, p. 42 (detail) WAVE #119, 2020 Powdered mineral pigments on hemp paper, mounted on wood 46 x 67 cm | 18 ⅛ x 26 ⅜ in p. 45 STILL WAVE #15, 2019 Powdered mineral pigments on hemp paper, mounted on wood 60 x 51 cm | 23 ⅝ x 20 ⅛ in
p. 29, pp. 30–31 (installation view) VOID 0, 2012 – 2018 Powdered mineral pigments on hemp paper, mounted on wood ø 136 cm | ø 53 ½ in
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Published on the occasion of the Makoto Ofune exhibition 7 February – 24 April 2020 Olivier and Priscilla Malingue would like to thank all of the people who have contributed to the production of this exhibition and catalogue. In particular, they would like to thank Kazuhito Yoshii, Charlotte Nourse, Rachel Dalton, Lewis Ronald, Ped Teale, Cassandra Brayham, Thomas Marsan and Benjamin Fleiss. Catalogue design: Rachel Dalton Printed in the UK by Pureprint All photographs by Plastiques Photography except for pp. 4, 5, 6, 15 and 18 by Mari Tanabe All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reprinted or reproduced in any form or by any means, without prior written permission from Olivier Malingue Ltd. ISBN 978-0-9957592-2-0 oliviermalingue.com
CBP00019082504183028