KUNO Ayako Metamorphoses of the City｜21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa.

Information

Period:

2019.7.6(Sat.) - 2019.9.23(Mon.)
10:00 - 18:00 (until 20:00 on Fridays and Saturdays)

Venue:

21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa
Long-Term Project Room

Closed:

Mondays (Open on Jul 15, Aug 12, Sep 16, 23), and Jul 16 (Tue.), Sep 17 (Tue.)

Admission:

Free

For More Information:

21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa
Phone: +81-76-220-2800
Facsimile: +81-76-220-2802
E-Mail: info@kanazawa21.jp

KUNO Ayako (b. 1983, Tokyo) employs lost-wax casting in her work. Lost-wax is a technique in which intricate forms made from wax are turned into casts, and Kuno uses it to produce pieces that combine the hard, solid texture of metal, with a dedication to detailed design. This exhibition presents works produced out of an earnest attitude to engage with metal and forge a dialogue with the method of metal casting: KUNO’s display of high-density formative aesthetics applied to robust metal creating works on an urban theme, that conjure up visions of a writhing, proliferating metropolis, morphing as it is constructed.

TATEMATSU Yumiko, Curator

Profile

KUNO Ayako

Born 1983 in Tokyo, where she is currently based, KUNO received her BFA in metalworking in 2008 from the Department of Industrial, Interior and Craft Design at Musashino Art University, and her MFA in crafts (metal casting) in 2010 from Tokyo University of Arts. Recent exhibitions include SICF15 (Spiral Hall, Tokyo; 2014), “erosion” (3331 Gallery, Tokyo, 2015), the 9th Sano Renaissance Metalcasting Competition (Sano Culture Center, Tochigi, 2017), 3rd Triennale of KOGEI in Kanazawa (People’s Gallery A, 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, 2017) and Special Exhibition “Metal Work” (Kanazawa Yasue Gold Leaf Museum, Kanazawa, 2018). Selected for the Kanazawa International Kogei Competition (2017), other awards include the Sano Renaissance Metalcasting Competition Encouragement Prize (2017), Shibuya Awards Grand Prize (2016) and SICF15 Audience Prize (2014).

Artist Statement

transform-hemisphere- 2018
©️KUNO Ayako

When I personally think of “landscapes,” it is densely packed urban spaces that come to mind, mainly the shapes that appear when such spaces are viewed from above, and the outlines of structures, seen from various viewpoints.
For example, the sight of disorderly clusters of buildings with similar shapes; the shapes that support these; the shapes of the gaps between buildings; and the incongruous feel of nature and manmade structures standing side by side.

As I see it, people have different ideas of what constitutes a landscape; partial and fragmented, mixed with their own individual concerns and thoughts, occasionally morphing and moving in multiple ways.

It is common to view the chaos and inorganic appearance of modern urban spaces in a negative light, but a city steadily growing and changing resembles a single, giant life form, and for me, is a fascinating entity that conjures up positive thoughts of strength, hope, and vitality.

In this exhibition, I employ the precision lost-wax technique and plaster investment casting, both of which allow precise, detailed expression in metal, to develop my own version of a “landscape.”

KUNO Ayako

Aperto

The exhibition series “Aperto” introduces up-and-coming young artists in a solo exhibition format. As an art museum actively engaged with the contemporary world, 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa looks closely at new trends now in the process of forming. Artists and curators collaborate in creating occasions for exhibiting works and act as an intermediary between today’s creation and that of the future. This exhibition series looks at individual artists who, although having little experience with solo or important group exhibitions at art museums, possess sufficient creative motivation to command a solo exhibition and who are expected to make a significant impact in the future. Artists are selected without regard for their nationality or expressive media by the curator at 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa. Note: “Aperto” is Italian for “open.”

Images

Credit

Organized by:

21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa (Kanazawa Art Promotion and Development Foundation)

21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa

Index

Aperto 11