Shinpei Kusanagi: Something is happening which is not happening at all
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“Dancingiseverything,” continued the Sheep Man. “Danceintip-topform. Dancesoitallkeepsspinning.
Ifyoudothat, wemightbeabletodosomethingforyou. Yougottadance. Aslongasthemusicplays.”
– HARUKI MURAKAMI
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Altman Siegel is pleased to announce “Something is happening which is not happening at all” a solo presentation of works by Tokyo-based artist Shinpei Kusanagi. This exhibition will take place online and will feature new paintings that embrace possibilities for energy and movement within a world standing still.
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The title for the exhibition is drawn from lyrics of the song "Take Time" by the band "The Books." A melodic meditation on time, the line reflects the sentiment Kusanagi tries to capture through his paintings while simultaneously echoing current societal energies, specifically the collapse and coexistence of motion and stillness.
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Kusanagi stains untreated canvases with layers of translucent color then incorporates improvisational brushstrokes in vivid hues, markings that materialize from rapid motions as well as pooling stillness. The compositions hover on the surface and then move into deep space. His atmospheric washes of color leave the paintings devoid of specific detail, conjuring memories of time and place rather than precise representation. Of memory, the artist once wrote: “it is all fatally destined to be washed away.”
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Shinpei Kusanagi (b.1973) lives and works in Tokyo, Japan. Solo exhibitions include: Taka Ishii Gallery, Tokyo; Altman Siegel, San Francisco; Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery; Gallery Sora, Tokyo; Bankart Studio, Tokyo and Makii Masaru Fine Arts, Tokyo. Group exhibitions include: Carnegie Art Museum, Oxnard; Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo; Shane Campbell Gallery, Chicago; XYZ collective, Tokyo; The Ueno Royal Museum,Tokyo; Gallery Space Prism, Tokyo and Creation Gallery G8, Tokyo.
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For more information please contact Altman Siegel at (415) 576-9300 or info@altmansiegel.com.
