kohei Nawa

kohei Nawa | Japan b.1975 | PixCell-Elk#2 2009 | 240 x 249.5 x 198cm | Taxidermied elk, glass, acrylic, crystal beads | Work created with the support of the Fondation d’enterprise Hermės | Courtesy the artist and SCAI, Tokyo | Photograph: Seiji Toyonaga

b.1975 Osaka, Japan

Lives and works in Kyoto, Japan

As a sculptor, Kohei Nawa is concerned with forms and surfaces and how they interact to become objects. His sculptures often exploit the tactile nature of surfaces, as in his ‘Pixcell’ series (2002–), in which he covers the surfaces of objects with glass beads of various sizes. The outer layer suggests a molecular structure, and also references the pixel of the computer screen. Fascinated by how we navigate objects in the virtual world via the internet, Nawa enters keywords into web search engines and creates sculptures based on the images that are returned, with his objects — such as taxidermied animals — sourced from online auction sites. Nawa’s skin of glass beads magnifies the object in some areas and distorts it in others, shifting our perception and questioning how we encounter things in our daily environment. His ‘Pixcell’ sculptures, such as PixCell – Elk#2 2009 shown in APT6, encapsulate Nawa’s longstanding interest in how we come to understand what we see.

Exhibitions (solo): Galerie Vera Munro, Hamburg, Germany, 2009; Miro Foundation, Barcelona, Spain, 2008; Peking Fine Arts, Beijing, China, 2008; Ierimonti Gallery, Milan, Italy, 2007; SCAI The Bathhouse, Tokyo, Japan, 2006. Exhibitions (group): ‘Parallel Worlds’ Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan, 2008; ‘Great New Wave: Contemporary Art from Japan’, Art Gallery of Hamilton, British Columbia, 2008; ‘Roppongi Crossing’, Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan, 2007; Biennial of Valencia, Spain, 2005. www.kohei-nawa.net

http://qag.qld.gov.au/exhibitions/past/recently_archived/apt6/artists/kohei_nawa

Kibong Rhee

Kibong Rhee | South Korea b.1957 | There is no place – Shallow cuts2008 | Glass, fog machine, artificial leaves, wood, steel, sand, motor, timer | Installation view, Kukje Gallery, Seoul | Images courtesy: The artist and Kukje Gallery, Seoul

KIBONG RHEE

1957 Seoul, South Korea
Lives and works in Seoul, South Korea

In the installations of Kibong Rhee, audiences encounter dreamlike scenarios in which everyday objects and images are made extraordinary through the illusion of movement and transformation. Using water and light to manipulate form and matter, Rhee plays on our expectations of the possible and impossible, offering metaphysical speculations that provide his work with a contemplative quality. In one of his recent works, books magically swim within translucent water tanks, a mesmerising act inspired by the artist accidentally dropping a book into the water of his bathtub while reading. In his installation at APT6, There is no place – Shallow cuts 2008, Rhee employs light and vapour to conjure a sublime impression of morning fog as it shrouds and obscures the silhouette of a vast willow tree. A powerfully physical work, it also suggest traditional landscape painting, forming a connection between experience and representation.

Exhibitions (solo): Kukje Gallery, Seoul, South Korea, 2008. Exhibitions (group): ‘Drawn in the Clouds’, Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki, Finland, 2008; Singapore Biennale, Singapore, 2008; ‘Thermocline of Art: New Asian Waves’, ZKM, Karlsruhe, Germany, 2007.

http://qag.qld.gov.au/exhibitions/past/recently_archived/apt6/artists/kibong_rhee