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N E W Y O R K | S I N G A P O R E | LO N D O N 2020–2021
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Hiroshi Senju in his New York studio
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We are pleased to announce that Hiroshi Senju has just Over the past four years, the internationally acclaimed completed a dynamic series of Waterfall paintings, his first painter has undertaken a number of high-profile since 2015. He has created these works for a three-city public projects, including two monumental paintings exhibition. They debut at our New York galleries (Chelsea commissioned to mark the 1,200th anniversary of and Madison Avenue), then will travel to London for the Kongobuji Temple at Koyasan, a sacred site in Japanese opening of our new space at Cromwell Place, followed by Buddhism and UNESCO World Heritage Site, and a largean exhibition at our Singapore gallery.
scale byobu or folding screen at Tokyo International Airport (Handeda). Having finished these large commissions, he
Senju began the creative process of creating these new returned to his New York studio to complete waterfalls for works on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. The pristine beauty Beginnings, our three-city exhibition. of Hawaii has inspired Senju’s work in the past, but it was the rugged, almost prehistoric landscape of Oahu’s northern The exhibition includes waterfalls in Senju’s iconic blackside that struck a chord. “There are places where you can and-white palette, as well as in red and blue, both dark and feel the energy of the beginning,” he says. “Here, I can feel bright. For one of the paintings, the artist, who mixes his the echo, the vibration of the Earth and the energy of Earth’s own pigments using crushed rock, coral and other natural creation.” The artist has a profound connection to and love of materials, has used platinum pigment for the first time in the nature. He has been conveying in paint its power and ability Waterfall series. Platinum allows him to achieve darkness to inspire awe for more than 30 years.
and light simultaneously and adds a subtle luminosity to the surface of the paintings. The diversity of color in this
Senju began exploring the waterfall image in the early 1990s exhibition is a departure from previous exhibitions, where the and his approach has continuously evolved since then. In artist presented a more uniform selection of pigment across 2003, he introduced vivid color, but returned to a refined a single body of work. black-and-white palette in 2007. Soon after, inspired by the luminous glow of neon signs on the streets of Tokyo, Senju The exhibition also includes a range of compositions, began to experiment with fluorescent pigments that glow including dynamic vertical formats that amplify the sensation a sublime electric blue when viewed under ultraviolet light. of the water’s power, energy and movement. Senju creates These luminescent waterfalls were the subject of several solo depth with asymmetrical, layered falls that conjure not just the shows in our galleries, as well as an immersive installation that appearance of rushing water, but also its sound, smell and was the centerpiece of Frontiers Reimagined, an exhibition feel. In other works, he aligns the waterfalls to one side of the Sundaram curated for the 2015 Venice Biennale.
composition, creating negative spaces that evoke stillness.
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Waterfall, 2020 Natural pigments on Japanese mulberry paper mounted on board 57.25 x 89.5 inches/145.4 x 227 cm 6
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Waterfall, 2020 Natural pigments on Japanese mulberry paper mounted on board 44.1 x 57.3 inches/112 x 145.6 cm 8
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Waterfall, 2020 Natural pigments on Japanese mulberry paper mounted on board 63.8 x 89.5 inches/162 x 227 cm 10
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Waterfall, 2020 Natural pigments on Japanese mulberry paper mounted on board 89.5 x 57.25 inches/227 x 145.4 cm 12
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Waterfall, 2020 Natural pigments on Japanese mulberry paper mounted on board 71.6 x 179 inches/182 x 455 cm 14
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Waterfall, 2020 Natural pigments on Japanese mulberry paper mounted on board 45.9 x 35.8 inches/117 x 91 cm 16
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Waterfall, 2020 Natural pigments on Japanese mulberry paper mounted on board 63.8 x 76.3 inches/162 x 194 cm 18
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Waterfall, 2020 Natural pigments on Japanese mulberry paper mounted on board 76.3 x 38.2 inches/194 x 97 cm 20
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Waterfall, 2020 Natural pigments on Japanese mulberry paper mounted on board 48.5 x 66.3 inches/123 x 168.5 cm 22
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Waterfall, 2020 Natural pigments and platinum on Japanese mulberry paper mounted on board 45.9 x 31.6 inches/117 x 80 cm 24
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Waterfall, 2020 Natural pigments on Japanese mulberry paper mounted on board 63.8 x 63.8 inches/162 x 162 cm 26
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Waterfall, 2020 Natural pigments on Japanese mulberry paper mounted on board 71.6 x 102 inches/182 x 259 cm 28
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Waterfall, 2020 Natural pigments on Japanese mulberry paper mounted on board 76.3 x 44.1 inches/194 x 112 cm 30
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Waterfall, 2020 Natural pigments on Japanese mulberry paper mounted on board 63.8 x 76.3 inches/162 x 194 cm 32
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This exhibition also includes a small group of Cliff paintings the artist created during the lockdown, using platinum pigments. He says he has chosen to work with platinum again now because it reflects the time we’re living in. Platinum has been used in artworks since antiquity. Senju believes it is one of the most precious and sublime pigments. Like the universe, which is open, infinite and holds many mysteries, so too does platinum. It is as old as the Earth itself and transcends human history. Senju prizes its longevity. As a pigment, platinum retains its character over time. Photographs cannot capture the luster and luminosity the platinum pigments impart, giving the surface of the paintings an almost frosted texture. Senju began exploring the cliff image in 2007, inspired, in part, by a piece of washi left crumpled on the studio floor. Reaching to pick it up, he looked more closely and was struck by the rock-like texture that formed in the creases. To create Cliffs, he begins by creasing, crumpling and crunching the paper by hand. This unique process is physical and spontaneous, but it also requires skill and intention. The structure of the paper and its subtle folds inspire the composition of the landscape. Senju then applies pigments, carefully allowing delicate rivulets of paint to move across the surface. In the physical world, cliffs represent boundaries—a definitive end. Through the process of creating these cliff images, the artist transcends the boundaries between dimensions to reveal new and uncharted frontiers. Senju describes the resulting works as flat sculptures.
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Cliff, 2020 Natural pigment and platinum on Japanese mulberry paper mounted on board 63.8 x 51.3inches/162 x 130 cm 36
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Cliff, 2020 Natural pigment and platinum on Japanese mulberry paper mounted on board 51.3 x 51.3 inches/130 x 130 cm 38
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Cliff, 2020 Natural pigment and platinum on Japanese mulberry paper mounted on board 63.8 x 51.3 inches/162 x 130 cm 40
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Cliff, 2020 Natural pigment and platinum on Japanese mulberry paper mounted on board 57.3 x 44.1 inches/145.5 x 112 cm 42
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Cliff, 2020 Natural pigment and platinum on Japanese mulberry paper mounted on board 45.9 x 45.9 inches/117 x 117 cm 44
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The Japanese-born New York-based painter was the first Asian artist to receive an Honorable Mention Award at the Venice Biennale (1995), and has participated in numerous exhibitions including The New Way of Tea, curated by Alexandra Munroe, at the Japan Society and the Asia Society in New York, 2002; Paintings on Fusuma at the Tokyo National Museum, 2003; and Frontiers Reimagined at the Venice Biennale, 2015. He was recently awarded the Foreign Minister’s Commendation from the Japanese government for contributions to art. In May 2017 he was honored with the Isamu Noguchi Award. Public installations include seventy-seven murals at Juko-in, a sub-temple of Daitoku-ji, a Zen Buddhist temple in Japan, and monumental waterfalls at Tokyo International Airport (Handeda). The Benesse Art Site of Naoshima Island houses two large-scale installations. The artist’s two monumental paintings for the Kongobuji Temple at Koyasan—a waterfall and a cliff—have been on view in major museums throughout Japan over the past year. They will be installed in the temple as fusuma (sliding doors) this fall. Senju’s work is in The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Brooklyn Museum, New York; the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco; the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri; the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto; the Museum of Modern Art, Toyama, Japan; the Yamatane Museum of Art, Tokyo; Tokyo University of the Arts; and the Kushiro Art Museum, Hokkaido. In 2009, Skira Editore published a monograph of his work titled Hiroshi Senju. The Hiroshi Senju Museum Karuizawa in Japan opened in 2011. Born in Tokyo, 1958 | Lives and works in New York
SUNDARAM TAGORE GALLERIES We have been representing established and emerging artists from around the world since 2000. We show work that is aesthetically and intellectually rigorous, infused with humanism and art historically significant. We specialize in paintings, drawings, sculptures and installations with a strong emphasis on materiality. Our artists cross cultural and national boundaries, synthesizing Western visual language with forms, techniques and philosophies from Asia, the Subcontinent and the Middle East. We show this work alongside important work by overlooked women from the New York School. The gallery also has a robust photography program that includes some of the world’s most noted photographers.
NEW YORK Chelsea: 547 West 27th Street, New York, NY 10001 • tel 212 677 4520 Madison Avenue: 1100 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10028 • tel 212 288 2889 gallery@sundaramtagore.com
SINGAPORE 5 Lock Road 01-05, Gillman Barracks, Singapore 108933 • tel 65 6694 3378 singapore@sundaramtagore.com
HONG KONG 4/F, 57-59 Hollywood Road, Central, Hong Kong • tel 852 2581 9678 hongkong@sundaramtagore.com President and curator: Sundaram Tagore Senior Director, New York: Susan McCaffrey Director, Singapore: Melanie Taylor Director, New York: Kathryn McSweeney Registrar: Julia Occhiogrosso Designer: Russell Whitehead Editorial support: Kieran Doherty
WWW.SUNDARAMTAGORE.COM Text © 2021 Sundaram Tagore Gallery Photographs © 2021 Hiroshi Senju All rights reserved under international copyright conventions. No part of this catalogue may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any other information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. Cover: Waterfall (detail), 2020, natural pigments on Japanese mulberry paper mounted on board, 44.1 x 57.3 inches/112 x 145.6 cm