Nobuyuki Tanaka – Surface Area –

Nobuyuki Tanaka
Surface Area – Where the Spirit Dwells
Dec. 7, 2024 – Jan. 25, 2025
Tokyo

Nobuyuki Tanaka
Surface Area – Where the Spirit Dwells

Kenji Taki Gallery (Roppongi) is pleased to present a solo exhibition of new works by Nobuyuki Tanaka, “Surface Area – Where the Spirit Dwells,” opening on December 7.

Captivated by the tactile quality of urushi (Japanese lacquer), Nobuyuki Tanaka has consistently created abstract sculptures using this medium. This exhibition focuses on works that emphasize the surface quality of urushi. Along with three-dimensional and wall-bound pieces made from jet-black kanshitsu (dry lacquer), he will display two-dimensional works on paper supports. His two-dimensional series titled “Touching Water” represents a new development that utilizes the core property of the tree sap as it solidifies.

Engaging with his own bodily sensations during the creative process alongside the inherent materiality of urushi, Tanaka describes his approach as “expressing [the work] as a part of an infinitely expanding world.” Featuring gentle curves and minimalist forms, the works evoke the natural cycles and the temporal process of generation embedded within the material, attempting to look deep into the core of objects through the “surface” of urushi.

The photo above: Touching Water T-1, 2024
Urushi and paper
H.38 x 27 x 1 cm
Photo by Kichiro Okamura (C) Nobuyuki Tanaka

Untitled, 2024
Urushi and hemp cloth / kanshitsu (dry lacquer)
H.67 x 34 x 20 cm
Photo : Kichiro Okamura
Copyright : Nobuyuki Tanaka