Tsuyoshi Hisakado: Resume

Ota Fine Arts Singapore is delighted to present “Resume”, a solo exhibition by Japanese artist Tsuyoshi Hisakado. Well-recognized for his immersive installation works, Hisakado has been actively participating in exhibitions globally in recent years, including “May You Live In Interesting Times”, 58th International Art Exhibition, Venice, Italy in 2019 (in collaboration with Apichatpong Weerasethakul). Subsequently in 2020, he presented a body of works which reflected his thoughts and ideas developed during the Covid19 pandemic, in a group exhibition at Hara Museum in Tokyo, Japan. The same installation works will be showcased this time in Singapore with a fresh configuration, accompanied by his recent series of works on paper. Ota Fine Arts Singapore hopes that the local audience can come and experience Hisakado’s unique sensibility through this presentation.

The main feature of this exhibition is the installation work Resume (2020), which consists of fifty wooden panels, each painted in fluorescent pink, yellow or orange on one side. Some of the panels lean against the walls and some lay on the floor of the gallery space, with their painted sides facing inwards. The natural light streaming through the large window of the gallery space bounces off the panels, creating a subtle glow of colours on the white walls and floor. One will also hear the sound of a 6,000 hertz sine wave being emitted from speakers – its consistent, artificial quality is in contrast to and brings out the other comparatively random sounds that can be heard from the surroundings. The artist conceptualized this work as a reaction to the changes in his daily life brought about by the pandemic, such as lockdowns and the postponement of events. Nevertheless, he managed to find positivity in these situations, taking notice of his surroundings with more sensitivity. The panels that face inwards or downwards are a metaphor for things that were put on hold, while the faint glow of colours suggest the ideas and ambitions that are brewing inside the artist’s mind.

Hisakado’s other piece Infrastructure #1 (2020) responds to the current status of society. Visually, the work resembles a slab of wall prior to being painted – displaying a layer of putty. A circular section of its surface appears to be cut out and placed on the floor nearby, revealing the inner structure made of plywood, behind which lay several panels of mirrors. By intentionally making its inner construction visible, Hisakado draws a parallel to the many layers of societal structure, inviting viewers to ponder on the social phenomena that lie in the background of everyday life. The mirror is a recurring material in many of Hisakado’s works, and in this piece, it is positioned with differing, subtle tilts, creating varied reflections of the surroundings – alluding to the difficulty of approaching reality and encouraging the viewer to take a closer look.

Expanding on his explorations in a 2-dimensional form, is the crossfades series (2018 – present, ongoing) of works on paper. Underneath a layer of blotches, splashes, or strokes of ink, Hisakado has silkscreened a spiral of minute numbers derived from the mathematical constant pi (π), visible only upon close observation. To Hisakado, the never-ending numbers of pi alludes to concepts of infinity. Between the paper, ink and numbers, the continuity of pi is distorted, invoking subtle shifts in the eternity of space and time and revealing poetic sensibilities through simple visual compositions.

Ota Fine Arts Singapore invites you to experience Tsuyoshi Hisakado’s latest works which are an extension and development of his practice to date.