Shinji Ohmaki: Interface of Being

The National Art Center, Tokyo (NACT) is pleased to present a solo exhibition of internationally acclaimed contemporary artist Shinji Ohmaki.

Ohmaki is known for creating large-scale installations that inquire into the nature of being and disrupt the somatic senses of viewers. He has presented these ambitious works to high acclaim not only in Japan but also in many other countries across Asia and Europe.

In addition, he applies his unparalleled gifts in diverse settings ranging from the performing arts to projects that revitalize local communities, working with a host of collaborators to transform each site.

Exhibition highlights
Installations reflecting Ohmaki’s deepening psychological exploration: In addition to the latest version of the series Gravity and Grace, initiated in 2016, this exhibition is scheduled to present new works rooted in fundamental questions surrounding our reasons for living.

The Great East Japan Earthquake, tsunami and Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster of March 11, 2011 had a profound impact on Ohmaki. In Gravity and Grace, Ohmaki interrogates our society’s attempts to wield the double-edged sword of nuclear power. Meanwhile, in recent years he has conducted extensive interviews with researchers in various fields of linguistics, investigating inseparable links between consciousness and language while exploring the nature of being. A new video installation produced during the COVID-19 pandemic is scheduled to be unveiled as a manifestation of this ongoing project. The deepening of Ohmaki’s reflections on civilization and nature, life and death, over the approximately ten years between the events of March 2011 and the onset of the pandemic are reflected in this exhibition.

Massive installations, delicate drawings: The exhibition will be held in a gallery with a ceiling height of eight meters and a total floor space of 2,000 square meters, and Ohmaki has conceived three large installations that make maximal use of the spacious venue. Due in part to their overwhelming, transhuman scale, the spaces Ohmaki creates often induce sublime sensations and spark deep introspection in those who enter them. Also on view will be numerous drawings that Ohmaki has produced in the process of creating these overwhelming spaces. The drawings capture the intangible atmosphere of sites, enabling the artist to verify the expanse and motion of space and intersections of light and shadow. The contrast between dynamic installations and delicate drawings is among the exhibition’s highlights.

Interdisciplinary collaborations: Taking a profound interest in the body inhabiting spaces and its physical relationships with others, Ohmaki has recently expanded his practice into the realm of theater, including producing the stage design for Rain (2023, Aichi Prefectural Art Theater, the New National Theatre, Tokyo, and elsewhere). With contrasts of light and darkness that beckon visitors into stage-like spaces, Ohmaki’s installations powerfully evoke theatricality at a fundamental level. Stepping into these spaces, we become not just spectators but also actors who belong to the worlds Ohmaki constructs.

Performances are also scheduled to be staged while the exhibition is on view.

In light of Ohmaki’s recent inspiration from language, a collaboration with poet Ryoko Sekiguchi is also planned. New levels of depth will surely be reached when Sekiguchi’s words run parallel to Ohmaki’s world of imagery.

General information
The National Art Center, Tokyo, Special Exhibition Gallery 2E

Organized by: The National Art Center, Tokyo; Japan Arts Council; Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan

With the cooperation of: Art Front Gallery; Mind Set Art Center; Nakagawa Chemical Inc.

Visit nact.jp for more details.