[Title] Un monde rêvé de la main
[Artist] Yoshihiro Suda + Tetsuya Nakamura
[Date] April 20 – June 23, 2002
‘Un monde rêve de la main (The world the hand dreams)’
Both Suda and Nakamura are the artists who create works only by their hands, and are confident of their skills. You may say that this would be a matter of course for professional artists, but in the current stream of Contemporary Art, the concept of works tends to be regarded as an important factor. Often the works are considered complete right after the commission is made. In this context, their works would be considered creations ‘against the current tide’ as Suda himself refers. However, art is rarely limited to one stream in one certain period. The higher completion of their works, accomplished by their skills, is regarded as one of the reasons Suda and Nakamura receive considerable reputations, which would well prove the unchanged fact that art made by one man with his own hands is inspiring.
There have been plenty of dialogues between Hermès and the two artists who exhibit together under the theme ‘The hand’. Suda had his eyes on spaces within Maison Hermès and Ginza, and his subtle and charming but strong flowers, which reveal the unknown aspects of the building and interact with the whole space of Le Forum. Nakamura’s two Replica Customs reflect the grids of light through glass blocks on its finely polished surface, and at night neon signs of Ginza play on the bodies, magnificently emphasizing their existence.
When creating, what are hands thinking of? It might sound strange to say hands think. However, as in the French title of this exhibition ‘Un monde rêve de la main (The world the hand dreams)’, the brain is not the only one that thinks, but hands also can lead us to dream of a different world. Delicate and hidden grace, or dynamic beauty made by the skills of ‘hands’. This harmony allows us to feel the connotation in the Japanese title, ‘Te (hand) no suki ma’. ‘Suki (to like)’ = Suki (to appreciate traditional arts), ‘Ma (spaces)’ that implies the awareness of distance, time and human relationship. Inspired by their hands, the two artists, Yoshihiro Suda and Tetsuya Nakamura, brought forth entity to this space, and through their interaction with the environment, we hope the viewers spread out their imaginations and enjoy the world the hand dreamed.
Yayoi Kojima (Independent Curator)