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Concrete Lives
Hours: 3 - 7pm (Weekdays), 1 - 7pm (Weekends and Holidays)
Concrete Lives curated by Souya Handa
Artists: Kai Sano, Yu Suzuki, and Souya Handa
July 5 - 15, 2024
Opening Reception: 7pm - 9pm, July 5
Hours: 3 - 7pm (Weekdays), 1 - 7pm (Weekends and Holidays)
Hours: 1pm - 7pm (July 5 - 8, 13 - 15), 3pm - 7pm (July 9 - 12)
Venue: Yotsuya Ekimae BLDG. 5F, 1-4 Yotsuya, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo
(東京都新宿区四谷1-4 四谷駅前ビル 5F)
Supported by Yutaka Kaburaki and Todoroki Inc.
Souya Handa Projects is pleased to announce Concrete Lives, a group exhibition curated by Souya Handa, focusing on concrete as a medium in urban life, featuring works by Kai Sano, Yu Suzuki, and Souya Handa. This exhibition is curated by Souya Handa and coincides with the second edition of Tokyo Gendai, an international art fair in Tokyo.
Concrete is not only a fundamental material in contemporary urban life and would be a major element of the stratum of the Anthropocene epoch but also a symbolic material in Japan. Post-World War II, Japanese architects embraced concrete for its structural integrity and aesthetic potential. Masters like Kenzo Tange crafted elegant concrete curves with suspended roofs, Kisho Kurokawa embodied Metabolist ideals through geometric concrete units, and Tadao Ando revealed the intrinsic beauty of the material, earning global acclaim.
Concrete also appears as rubble in Japan's historical context, marked by numerous disasters. Several major earthquakes have struck Japan: in Tokyo in 1923, in Kobe in 1995, in Tohoku in 2011, and recently in Hokuriku this January. There are also collective traumas from war, such as the bombing of Tokyo and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Thus, concrete is not only a symbol of architectural strength but also of fragility.
Kai Sano draws scenes from his personal life—literally the concrete objects in his life—with charcoal, an unstable medium, on concrete plates. In his works, concrete, which supports our residences, symbolizes both stability and fragility. This interplay between charcoal and concrete poignantly reflects the delicate nature of our daily lives.
Yu Suzuki, a photographer with a background in architecture, captures buildings and cities from a unique perspective. In his "TOKYO TRANSPARENT BOUNDARIES" series, he visits the borders of each special ward in Tokyo and photographs these invisible boundary lines. While humans assign meaning to these artificially drawn boundaries, buildings and cities resist complete control, existing like lives made of concrete that evolve over time and through change.
Souya Handa focuses on the conflicts between technological development and social ethics. Growing up in Hiroshima with his engineer father, Handa was familiar with technology from a young age and aware of its potential threats. He expresses his ambivalence toward humankind's achievements and the environmental destruction of the Anthropocene through his work.
Concrete Lives reveals urban landscapes through the perspectives of each artist. By using concrete as a medium, the exhibition offers a profound exploration of the foundations and history embedded in our urban lives.
Images for Reference
Kai Sano (b.1994) creates artworks that respond to the robustness, fragility, and transience of materials. His art explores the theme of spaces and homes, which evolve over time, influenced by relationships with family and the changing times. He obtained his BFA in sculpture from Aichi University of the Arts in 2017 and his MFA in intermedia art from Tokyo University of the Arts in 2019. Sano won an Excellent Prize of Tokyo Midtown Award 2020, and a place of Arts Challenge 2022, an open call by Aichi Triennale 2022.
Yu Suzuki (b.1991) is a photographer and artist, who was studying architecture, turned his attention to the phenomena, experiences and historical events that are born out of cities, and the buildings and architecture within them, and started to practice and research the very nature of viewing (i.e. immersing oneself in) these elements through the medium of photography. Suzuki majored in architecture at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, earned an MFA from Tokyo University of the Arts, and is currently pursuing a PhD at the same institution.
Souya Handa (b.1994), grew up in Hiroshima, is an artist and independent curator. His projects focus on exploring the relationship between technology and social ethics, as well as on issues surrounding Asian and Japanese identity. He holds a MFA from the Tokyo University of the Arts, as well as a MASc from the University of Tokyo with his research of 1980s Japanese video art. He has been selected as a New York Fellowship grantee 2024 by Asian Cultural Council.
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