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Kikuchi creates machines that demand an excessive amount of labor utterly disproportionate to their output, and by operating them himself, he has turned the very act of producing images reminiscent of canonical works from art history into artworks in their own right. The machines, made of iron and stainless steel, are so heavy and solid that a single adult would struggle to lift them. While they resemble industrial machine tools in appearance, in reality they are astonishingly inefficient devices that impose severe physical labor. In a contemporary society that prioritizes results and efficiency, Kikuchi deliberately presents such seemingly nonsensical actions as works of art.
In this exhibition, Kikuchi turns back in time to the Northern Renaissance of the 15th century and the Baroque period of the 17th century, presenting new works based on motifs from three paintings.
This summer, Johannes Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring will come to Japan and be exhibited at the Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka, attracting considerable attention. As is well known, this painting has had an unusual and eventful history. After Vermeer’s death in 1675, it was put up for auction and passed through numerous owners over nearly two centuries. In an 1881 auction, it was sold for the remarkably low price of 10,000 yen, and following the purchaser’s death, the work was donated to the Mauritshuis.
Taking this painting as a point of departure, along with Diego Velázquez’s Las Meninas and Jan van Eyck’s The Arnolfini Portrait, the exhibition features the Ultra-Close-Up Series, which depicts the images that would (presumably) be visible when a viewer approaches the picture plane at eye level and at extremely close range. Also included are works from the series Practice for Zero Gravity, created by drawing on steel plates using “iron brush holders,” as well as other two-dimensional, three-dimensional, and video works.
On Saturday, March 21, a performance is scheduled in which he will operate one of his own machines.

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Held concurrently

3/25 wedー4/04 sat　Repetition & Letting Go / SUZUKI Maiko ▶︎

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