Site-Specific Artists in Echigo-Tsumari / Interviewed by Fram Kitagawa (2021-2022)

Sculptor / Director of Sandwich Inc./ Professor at Kyoto University of the Arts. Born in 1975, based in Kyoto. Established “Sandwich” in 2009. NAWA focused on the “surface skin” of sculptures as an interface connecting to senses and presented the work created under the core concept of cell (biological cell and particle) called “PixCell” in 2002 which symbolised the information age. In response to the theme of relations between life and space as well as sensibility and technology, Nawa created a work which let a bubble itself grew into a gigantic volume called “Foam” based upon flexible interpretation of the definition of sculpture which eventually created opportunities to viewers to gain perceived experience as if the physical characteristics of materials open up for them. Nawa has been working on architectural projects in recent years including an art pavilion “The Kohtei pavilion”. Nawa has also been presenting “Vessel”, a piece of performing art created in collaboration with Damian Jalet, a Belgian choreographer and dancer since 2015. Nawa presented a sculptural work “Throne” in the Louvre Pyramid at Louvre Museum, Paris in 2018.

[mé] is a contemporary art team represented by three core members, KOJIN Haruka (artist), MINAMIGAWA Kenji (director) and MASUI Hirofumi (production manager). Based upon a collaborative creativity rooted in each member’s skill and capability, [mé] focuses on exhibiting space, situation and audience rather than adopting specific methods or genres. They create artworks that attempt to bring the fugitive nature of reality close to how we actually feel. Their masterpieces include “Unreliable Reality – The Where of This World” (solo exhibition at Shiseido Gallery, Tokyo, 2014), “Day with a Man’s Face Floating in the Sky” (Utsunomiya Museum of Art Outreach Project, Tochigi, 2013-2014), “Elemental Detection” (Saitama Triennale 2016, Saitama), “repetitive objects” (ETAT2018, Niigata), “Contact” (Roppongi Crossing 2019, Mori Art Museum, Tokyo), “Obviously, no one can make heads nor tails” (solo exhibition, Chiba City Museum of Art, 2019). Granted The Art Award of Takashimaya Charitable Trust for Art and Culture (2017) and honourable mention at VOCA 2019.

Born in France, 1972, lives and works there. Darrot creates artworks using diverse ranges of mixed media such as sculpture, installation, and automated objects. Darrot
makes references to science, history, myth, and literature and sometimes works in collaboration with scientists.。

Born in 1981 in Tokyo. Resides in Mie. Received VOCA Encouragement Prize in 2010. Completed Meisterschülerstudium at Dresden Academy of Fine Arts in 2012. NAKATANI creates a shape of an image with stories, molds it with plaster, takes out clay in the original shape from the template, pours transparent resin into the empty template allowing people to view sculptures from inside. She moved to an abandand house in Mie which was once lived by her grandfather 2014. She organises one-day only solo exhibition in “Private Omuro Gallery” in the renovated space from the factory. Participated in ETAT2018.

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Photo by Adam Dreessen

Born in 1962 in Yamanashi. He has been interested in diverse colours of the earth and started to collect soils from across Japan since 1990. He has expanded his territory and currently works and exhibites in France. He participated in ETAT2006 and has a permanent wok in Echigo-Tsumari Satoyama Contemporary Art, MonET since 2012.

Born in 1965. Based in Berlin. He has created a wide range of artworks under the strong influence of science and mathematics. His first participation in ETAT was in 2003 followed by the creation of “Wellenwanne LFO” which became a permanent collection of Echigo-Tsumari Satoyama Museum of Contemporary Art in 2012.

Born in 1940. One of the most prominent artists who has been creating artworks both in and outside Japan since 1960s. He has focused on “what you can see” and “what you can’t see” and their relations when creating artworks. His artworks whether it is visible or not visible, surely represent materiality, time and void space, and life and death of things. He has been participating in ETAT since the first iteration in 2000.

Born in 1940 in Osaka. He grew up in Kochi and then lived in Hinode-cho (formerly known as Hinode village) in Nishi-Tamagun, Tokyo from 1969. He led self-sufficient life by making tableaux, prints, and picture books and moved to Izu where he currently resides. He has been continuously engaging with Echigo-Tsumari through diverse artistic activities since 2009.

Photo by TSUZUKI Kenji