Kazu Nakagawa’s work is best described by the Japanese word Ma; a word which has no direct and single English equivalent. It means ‘the space between’, ‘the distance between’, or the ‘room between or around things’. Philosophically, Nakagawa’s work falls into and examines this enigmatic space. The viewer must pose questions in order to explore the work. However, the resolution is that there are always many more questions than answers.
This survey of Nakagawa’s work represents work done between the period 1991 and 1996. It shows definite shifts in artistic concern, with transformations in the way he perceives his work, changes in the kind of structures he produces and materials he works with. He is making less furniture or functional objects and focuses on forms which are idea or philosophy based, a philosophy which is aesthetic. He uses any material he feels best describes the concept from wood, metal, concrete, canvas, paint, pencil, paper, material etc.
However by distancing himself from pure functionality he does not in turn distance the viewer from the object; rather the approach intensifies the viewer’s experience. In this touchable almost fetishistic manner his work creates an intense interaction between object and viewer.
Press
→ Busy time at gallery, Howick & Pakuranga Times, 18-11-1996
Ephemera
→ Kazu Nakagawa: A Survey of Works from 1990-1996, 1996, exhibition card