Saburo Murakami
Painter / Performance Artist
Murakami was renowned for his paintings. Highly conceptual in his methods and presentation of art, he experimented with a variety of painting gestures inspired by children. Initially, Murakami applied several layers of paint in an almost excessive way. The playfulness of the creative act was one of the central premises for the artist, who welcomed elements of chance and inevitability in his work. Works that were created between 1955 and the mid-1960s stress the passage of time by retaining traces of violent actions and dynamic changes, sharing a commonality with the kami-yaburi performances. In the late 1950s, he experimented with relief-like works, attaching pieces of wood, thick plaster, or other materials to raise the surface. He also splashed paint across the canvas and employed dynamic brushstrokes.
Later in his career, his works merged further with conceptual, performance, and minimalist techniques. Brush strokes were arranged more separately and simply as opposed to of the former multi-layered approach. The artist also further explored his tendency to use strong and contrasting colors. Throughout his oeuvre, Murakami expressed a distance from the purely aesthetic, and strived for ways to constantly renew himself.
Saburo Murakami
Painter / Performance Artist
Murakami was renowned for his paintings. Highly conceptual in his methods and presentation of art, he experimented with a variety of painting gestures inspired by children. Initially, Murakami applied several layers of paint in an almost excessive way. The playfulness of the creative act was one of the central premises for the artist, who welcomed elements of chance and inevitability in his work. Works that were created between 1955 and the mid-1960s stress the passage of time by retaining traces of violent actions and dynamic changes, sharing a commonality with the kami-yaburi performances. In the late 1950s, he experimented with relief-like works, attaching pieces of wood, thick plaster, or other materials to raise the surface. He also splashed paint across the canvas and employed dynamic brushstrokes.
Later in his career, his works merged further with conceptual, performance, and minimalist techniques. Brush strokes were arranged more separately and simply as opposed to of the former multi-layered approach. The artist also further explored his tendency to use strong and contrasting colors. Throughout his oeuvre, Murakami expressed a distance from the purely aesthetic, and strived for ways to constantly renew himself.
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Hear You AthensPhotobook PublicationHear You Athens is a series of 50 photographs and two letters, a correspondence between two friends, Georges Salameh and Alexandros Mistriotis. Their conversation, over the years, is summarized in this book. (more…)
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Hybrids: Forging New Realities as Counter NarrativePublicationHYBRIDS: Forging New Realities as Counter-Narrative aims to explore the new atmosphere of trans-disciplinary experimentation across divergent fields and sectors in the arts. (more…)
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Marta Zgierska: From All AnglesSep 29, 2023 – Jan 7, 2024Marta Zgierska is a photographer who has developed a distinctive style that blends various opposites. The artist creates cool, aesthetically pleasing and formally sophisticated compositions in which images of abstracted objects or her own body convey emotional messages and metaphorically illustrate existential reflection. Zgierska’s broad liberal arts education makes her a keen interpreter of her own work. (more…)
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Interview with Saul LeiterBy David Gibson“History of art is a history of great things neglected and ignored and mediocre things being admired. At different times things are different. The history of photography is a history of changes.” –Saul Leiter (more…)
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Vinca Petersen: Me, Us and DogsNov 3 – Dec 16, 2023Edel Assanti is pleased to present Vinca Petersen’s second solo exhibition at the gallery, Me, Us and Dogs, concurrent with the artist’s inclusion in two inaugural displays on view in London at the V&A Photography Centre and the recently reopened National Portrait Gallery. (more…)
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Laura Pannack: Youth Without Age and Life Without DeathPublicationThe inaugural photobook from fine art photographer Laura Pannack. Youth Without Age and Life Without Death marks the first chapter of a long running project in which the artist uses large format photographs, polaroids, drawings and personal notes to grasp at the intagible and explore her connection with time itself. (more…)
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Hannah Quinlan and Rosie Hastings: Bleak HouseOct 26, 2023 – Feb 11, 2024Kunsthall Stavanger is proud to present Bleak House, the first exhibition in Norway by artist-duo Hannah Quinlan & Rosie Hastings. Featuring an installation of 15 found dollhouses and a multi-channel sound piece, as well as a selection of original etchings and a video work, the exhibition highlights the relationship between architecture and the construction of identity, power dynamics and societal norms. (more…)
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Walde Huth: Material and FashionSep 23, 2023 – Mar 3, 2024German photographer Walde Huth (1923-2011) spent her entire career exploring textiles and fabrics. Starting with commissions in the early 1950s, including those from the velvet factory Gottlieb Ott Sohn, she was able to enter the international world of fashion as a photographer, working with designers of the “New Look” such as Christian Dior and Jacques Fath. (more…)
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Edition Block 1966–2022Feb 10, 2023 – Feb 25, 2024Since the 1960s, René Block has been a key figure in the European art world. In 1964, he opened a gallery in Berlin that was to shape art history. In 2022, now aged 80, he is artistic director of the 2022 Riga Biennale taking place from mid-July to early October. (more…)
