Send the latest news, comments, and comments directly to your inbox.
Sensitive to art and its dissatisfaction
Independent art news that supports Hyperallergic. become member"
Rakuko Naito has worked in different media and materials, and seems to have had at least four careers, but he is almost unknown in New York. Born in Japan in 1935, he graduated from Tokyo National University in 1958 to study Japanese painting (Japanese painting). In the same year, she and her husband, painter Tadaaki Sangshan, moved to New York City and have been living there. Historically, Naito belongs to a generation of Japanese diaspora artists born in New York before World War II, including Arakawa, Yoko Ono, Yasushi Kawara, Yayoi Kusama, Tadasky (Tadasuke Kuwuyama), and Minoru Niizuma. Among them, she is the least known. Part of the reason is that she does not have an iconic style, which is clearly illustrated in the compact exhibition Rakuko Naito of Alison Bradley Projects (November 4 to December 11, 2021) , Ingeniously planned by Gabriela Rangel.
The exhibition displays 9 works (four paintings, one photo, two wire cube sculptures and two paper reliefs), all created between 1965 and 2021. In the early 1960s, Naito's friend introduced her to acrylic paint (an American material), the painter Sam Francis, as Rangel told us in the catalog accompanying the exhibition. Through acrylic, she began to explore two different possibilities at the same time, "op art with moiré effect and square geometric division".
In "RN821-65" (1965), Naito uses the square of the drawing space to rotate a square so that each corner touches the middle of the four sides. Within the rotating square or diamond, she rotates and hangs a smaller square. Limiting herself to two colors (black and a color that is not too maroon), she alternates vertical stripes, which change when they pass through large and small diamonds. She disturbs the composition by incorporating visual changes, which shows that her interest in Op Art is contradictory. Naito’s interest in Wrangell’s “moir effect” is probably the reason why William Seitz did not choose her work for the exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art (February 23 to April 25, 1965). He planned.
In the other three paintings ("RN268-66", "RN1134-66", and "RN168-66", all 1966), Naito uses hard-edged black lines to define a square or a rotating square in the painting. One of the most striking aspects of these paintings is her color palette. "RN1134-66" is the color of roasted acorn squash. When I first walked into the small gallery space with four paintings on display, it immediately caught my attention, as well as two line sculptures and photos.
"RN1134-66" implies that when working in monochrome, Naito uses colors to distinguish her from other monochrome artists. On the one hand, the color of this painting and "RN268-66" are neither natural nor elegant, or to be precise, they are not fancy. They are bold and artificial, just like the eye-catching colors of hot rods you see. I would love to know what the key exhibitions of Naito's career have looked like over the years, even if I think of other theoretical presentations of her work, including the much-needed in-depth investigation.
I also thought that Wrangel’s Moiré effect might be an indirect way for Naito to deal with the sense of displacement that she must experience after immigrating to the United States and starting to use new materials, which requires her to give up her entire education. The unique photo "Shadow, RN2418-91" (1991) emphasizes this feeling, which has something in common with the earliest painting in the exhibition.
The square photo of grass is divided vertically. On the left, starting from the top, we see four irregular horizontal bands; the upper band is the black shadow projected on the grass, and the lower band is the grass without shadows. This repeats again. On the right side, the top band is unshaded grass, making it opposite to the left side. In the hue, the left side is slightly different from the right side of green. The game between similarity and difference, and the game between viewing simple photos of grass and shadows and viewing geometric abstract photos of grass and shadows are part of the fun of this nuanced work.
The themes of displacement and containment also appear in the two wire cubes. In "RNCUBE0-99" (1999), Naito hung a wire cube carefully filled with paper rolls in a larger wire cube. A secret feeling, a secret world, one can glimpse but not see clearly, this is an experience of watching this work.
According to the gallery’s press release, Naito has been studying the ductility and strength of traditional Japanese paper kozo and mino washi for the past thirty years. She realized that this was a series of organic works in progress. She tore, folded, burned or rolled these works into a thin box. In "RN710-1/4-1-1/2-21" (2021), she burned one edge of a piece of paper, and she stacked the paper in a box in carefully spaced horizontal rows, Implied a shutter.
The delicacy of the paper, as well as the scorched, frayed edges advancing forward, evoke a firm determination-never the same repetitive actions, inevitable damage, strength, adaptability and fragility. However, even if it evokes all these conditions and states, the work is very restrained. Naito's paperwork is both material and non-material. It is an abstract chronicle of life and time, and it is also a rejection of materiality and material surplus. This is an art that the American art world has never really recognized, perhaps because of its implicit criticism of our love for things.
Rakuko Naito will continue to be exhibited at Alison Bradley Projects (526 W. 26th Street, Suite 814, Chelsea, Manhattan) until December 11. The exhibition is curated by Gabriela Rangel.
Sign up for our email newsletter!
In another turbulent year in the film industry, Hyperallergic's favorites include unconventional musicals, experimental meditations on loneliness, as well as documentaries about coffee farmers and a forgotten concert.
Bursztyn used scrap metal and cloth to create vibrating, noisy dynamic sculptures, mixing sensual and disturbing energy.
The Nature of Your Departure showcases the works of four masters of photography graduate students from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston.
This weekend, artist Lorenzo Bussi collaborated with cleaners to protest the harsh working conditions and low wages in this dazzling museum of contemporary art.
The shirts with empty bases and ropes have been sold out.
This first-class project in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania provides new graduate facilities, generous tuition scholarships, guaranteed graduate grants, respected teachers, and more.
Physical activity is an asset, and Instagram seems reluctant to mention it as a resource.
Critics liken this new project featuring murals and lighting effects to "Disney."
It is now exhibited at the Bemis Contemporary Art Center in Omaha, Nebraska. This group exhibition features works by Heather Dewey-Hagborg, Stephanie Dinkins, Rodney McMillian and others.
Since so many art spaces are closed for most of the year, many of us spend a lot of time indoors looking through and reading various books. This year's list reflects a wide range of themes and shows that the art book publishing field continues to be impressive (although we can stop...
In the past nine years, Michael Sherwin has visited and photographed ancient earthworks, sacred landforms, documented archaeological sites, and Native American battlefields.
At the invitation of the Wheelwright Museum, Nathan Young created a series of reins, bow guards, belt buckles and cigarette holders from the 19th century to the present.
John Yau has published poetry, novels and critical books. His latest poetry publications include a collection of poems, "Further Monochrome Adventures" (Copper Canyon Press, 2012), and John Yau's... more
You must register to post comments. Log in now or become a member.
Hyperallergic is a forum for serious, playful and radical thinking about art in the world today. Hyperallergic was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Brooklyn, New York. Independent art news that supports Hyperallergic. become member"