Nobuhiro Nakanishi, sculptor, born in Fukuoka in 1976. B.A., Fine Arts (Sculpture), Tokyo Zokei University in 1999. M.A., Fine Arts (Sculpture), Kyoto City University of Arts in 2002. Currently lives and works in Osaka, Japan. 

Selected solo exhibitions include: ‘Saturation’, Osaka Contemporary Art Center, Osaka, Japan (2006), ‘Transparent view’, Aomori Contemporary Art Centre, Aomori, Japan (2011). Selected group exhibitions include: ‘Kobe Art Annual 2001’, Kobe Art village Center, Hyogo, Japan (2001), ‘Roppongi Crossing 2007: Future Beats in Japanese Contemporary Art’, Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan (2007), ‘The Doors of Perception I’, Toyota Municipal Museum of Art, Aichi, Japan (2010), Islamic Arts Festival 19th Session – “Bunyan”, Sharjah Art Museum, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (2016-17), Double Reflection (2018), Toyama Glass Art Museum, Toyama, Japan. Collaborated with La Praire in 2020. The recent commission works include public art at Kyobashi Station on the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line (2020), and TOKYO MIDTOWN YAESU, Tokyo, Japan (2022).

Nakanishi continued to work in a style different from what has traditionally been understood as sculpture making, which involved representing images of humans or objects three dimensionally using media like wood, stone, clay or metal, while also distancing himself away from weight, gravity and the materiality of media related to sculpture. His expression that deals with antithetical ideas of existence and absence, the material and the nonmaterial, or the visible and the invisible generates in space visually imperceptible senses and conceptual territories such as consciousness and thoughts or memories and time to invite us into a mysterious experience.  There are two representative series Nakanishi has been working on since early 2000s; ‘Layer Drawing’ series which captures the accumulation of time as a sculpture, and ‘Stripe Drawing’ series which consists of countless vertical lines that are drawn free hand. Those vertical lines and interval blank spaces between the lines are assembled together to make a certain figure. 

Could you tell us about your background and how you began your path as an artist?

In the early stages of my art education, I studied figurative sculpture at an art university. Today, I create works that focus on observing the world through a sculptural perspective, without being confined to specific materials or techniques. When I was a child, I used to skip school and stay home, making tiny architectural models with toothpicks and glue in my bed. Looking back, I believe those creations, made in a state of absorption, were my first sculptures. Even then, I was likely interested in gathering various materials to create cave-like, enveloping spaces.

What were some of the early influences that shaped your artistic vision?

I was drawn to conceptual works by artists such as Daniel Buren, Sol LeWitt, and Félix González-Torres. I think I was captivated by the expansive beauty found within rational thought. I admire expressions that are stripped down based on a certain set of rules.

Do you usually begin with a concept, material, or image?

I often begin with an image. I enjoy drawing out ideas intuitively by moving my body — such as observing a landscape while walking or engaging in continuous sketching.

What has been the most rewarding part of being creative in your experience so far?

I feel most fulfilled when scattered ideas and images start to connect like a line and give rise to inspiration for a new piece. It’s like vague ideas turn into words and begin to take clear shapes. 

What kind of experience do you hope to evoke in people who encounter your installation works?

I hope to evoke an experience akin to walking along a path in a forest — where, upon entering the exhibition space, viewers naturally move around the work, letting their perspective wander. I want viewers to anticipate a next view step by step and feel that they are merging seamlessly with the space.

Do you have any advice for emerging artists aiming to make their mark?

I hope they create as many works as possible, as long as possible, even if just a day longer, and build new worlds through their practice. As for myself, I want to keep thinking, even little by little, about what I can do.

Text & photos courtesy of Nobuhiro Nakanishi

Website: http://nobuhironakanishi.com/