Tokujin Yoshioka: Waterfall
Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation SCAF, Sydney, Through 17 December, 2011
TOKUJIN YOSHIOKA: Waterfall is a major solo exhibition developed by Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation (SCAF). This exhibition is exclusive to Sydney. Waterfall explores the work of endlessly inventive Japanese artist Tokujin Yoshioka. Known for the simplicity and ingenuity of his concepts and holistic approach to design, Tokujin Yoshioka’s interdisciplinary practice has garnered him much attention since founding his eponymous studio in Tokyo in 2000. Tokujin Yoshioka experiments with a sophisticated play of materials and shapes using his art as a means of communicating something fascinating, surprising, joyful and unexpected. SCAF has invited Tokujin to create an extraordinary installation, transforming the gallery space and giving Australian audiences the opportunity to view the work of this influential contemporary artist.
TOKUJIN YOSHIOKA
Waterfall, 2005
Courtesy and © Tokujin Yoshioka. Courtesy of SCAF, Sydney.
Born in Japan in 1967, Tokujin Yoshioka’s professional career is rooted in the fruitful collaboration with Shiro Kuramata and Issey Miyake. The ten-year association with the renowned fashion designer has produced numerous important projects including Issey Miyake Making Things at the Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain, Paris (1998). Tokujin Yoshioka has collaborated with various companies inside and outside Japan including Hermès, BMW, Toyota and Swarovski. His works are held in permanent collections such as the Museum of Modern Art, New York and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
Recent exhibitions include Sensing Nature, Mori Art Museum, Tokyo (2010), and Glasstress 2011, a collateral event of the 54th Venice Biennale. He also directed Second Nature at 21_21 DESIGN SIGHT (2008). Water blocks, optical glass benches designed by Tokujin Yoshioka in 2002, have been permanently installed at the Musée d’Orsay, Paris, in the Impressionist gallery where masterpieces of Cézanne, Degas, Manet, Monet, Renoir are displayed (Orsay museum reopened after renovation on October 20, 2011). This is the artist’s first visit to Australia.
An exhibition catalogue is published on the occasion of Japanese designer Tokujin Yoshioka’s inaugural Australian exhibition at Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation. Authors: Gene Sherman, AM, Chair and Executive Director of SCAF - Dolla S. Merrillees, General Manager, Artistic & Educational Programmes, SCAF - Mami Kataoka, Chief curator, Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, and International Associate Curator, Hayward Gallery, London. Published by Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation, 2011, 96 pages, 220 x 155 mm, full colour, hardback with dust jacket.
Tokujin Yoshioka: Waterfall is supported by Japan Foundation, SPACE Furniture and Nelson Meers Foundation.
Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation
Sydney NSW 2021 Australia
www.sherman-scaf.org.au
Tokujin Yoshioka website: www.tokujin.com
