Yutaka Sone
21 Mar - 05 May 2007
Yutaka Sone
March 21 – May 5, 2007
Opening Reception: Wednesday, March 21, 2007, 6:00 - 8:00pm
David Zwirner is pleased to present an exhibition of new work by Los Angeles based artist Yutaka Sone. Sone was the subject of the seminal exhibition Yutaka Sone: Jungle Island at the MOCA, Los Angeles, CA (2003). In 2002, he had a solo show entitled Travel to Double River Island at the Toyota Municipal Museum of Art, Toyota City, Japan. In addition, Sone has participated in several major
biennials, including the Whitney Biennial, New York, NY (2004), The 25th Biennal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil (2002), 13th Biennale of Sydney, Sydney, Australia (2002), the Istanbul Biennial, Istanbul, Turkey (2001), and Yokohama 2001: International Triennale of Contemporary Art, Yokohama, Japan (2001). In 2003, he represented his native Japan in La Bienale di Venezia, Venice, Italy. In September, 2006, Sone’s sculpture It Seems Like Snow Leopard Island inaugurated David Zwirner’s new space at 519 West 19th Street. The
sculpture was previously featured in Sone’s solo exhibition at the Kunsthalle Bern in Bern, Switzerland – the largest European presentation of the artist’s work to date and the third in a trilogy of exhibitions including Yutaka Sone: X-Art Show at the Aspen Museum of Art, Aspen, CO and Yutaka Sone Forecast: Snow at The
Renaissance Society at The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL (all 2006). This exhibition will be Sone’s third solo show at the gallery.
Yutaka Sone’s work encompasses painting, drawing, performance, sculpture, and video. From tiny crystal snowflakes to major works in marble, he is inspired by landscape; more specifically, snowy outdoor scenes. Many of his installations include live trees or plants, which, when interspersed with paintings, drawings, and sculptures, completely alter traditional gallery and museum exhibition spaces. Other prevalent themes are amusement, motion, play and desire, which in past works have taken the form of roller coasters, the island of
Hong Kong, and highway interchanges carved in pure white marble. In a range of diverse media, Sone explores his love of nature, and in particular snow and skiing, by emphasizing the individuality of natural forms through his choice of materials.
Reflecting and absorbing the light, and fluctuating between solid and ephemeral, Sone’s works in crystal and marble are clearly celebratory; in a sense they represent a perfect place or mindset while leaving much to the imagination. In his two-dimensional works, Sone further expores this ideal place within which particular moments may be captured: the habitat of the snow leopard, weather conditions, schematics of snowflakes, foliage, and mountains. In his installations, which are often intuitively constructed, Sone brings works in a range of media together to create environments that border on dreamscapes or fantasy worlds.
For this exhibition, Sone has created several new, hand-carved crystal snowflakes, ranging in size from six by six inches to nearly two by two feet in diameter, carved from single pieces of crystal in his studio in China. Each flake is, like those found in nature, unique – this aspect is reflected in their collective title, Every Snowflake Has a Different Shape. Also on display will be Ski Lift, a large-scale, carved marble sculpture depicting a highly-detailed ski lift surrounded by snow-covered trees. On the walls will be new paintings and
drawings that further the artist’s conceptual journey towards what he refers to as an “unreachable place.” In all of his works, Sone attempts to reveal the exquisite and the ephemeral – qualities that allude to our paradoxical relationship with nature.
For information, please contact the gallery at 212-727-2070, or visit www.davidzwirner.com
Image:
Untitled 2007
Acrylic on canvas
Image Size: 22 x 28 inches 55.9 x 71.1 cm
March 21 – May 5, 2007
Opening Reception: Wednesday, March 21, 2007, 6:00 - 8:00pm
David Zwirner is pleased to present an exhibition of new work by Los Angeles based artist Yutaka Sone. Sone was the subject of the seminal exhibition Yutaka Sone: Jungle Island at the MOCA, Los Angeles, CA (2003). In 2002, he had a solo show entitled Travel to Double River Island at the Toyota Municipal Museum of Art, Toyota City, Japan. In addition, Sone has participated in several major
biennials, including the Whitney Biennial, New York, NY (2004), The 25th Biennal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil (2002), 13th Biennale of Sydney, Sydney, Australia (2002), the Istanbul Biennial, Istanbul, Turkey (2001), and Yokohama 2001: International Triennale of Contemporary Art, Yokohama, Japan (2001). In 2003, he represented his native Japan in La Bienale di Venezia, Venice, Italy. In September, 2006, Sone’s sculpture It Seems Like Snow Leopard Island inaugurated David Zwirner’s new space at 519 West 19th Street. The
sculpture was previously featured in Sone’s solo exhibition at the Kunsthalle Bern in Bern, Switzerland – the largest European presentation of the artist’s work to date and the third in a trilogy of exhibitions including Yutaka Sone: X-Art Show at the Aspen Museum of Art, Aspen, CO and Yutaka Sone Forecast: Snow at The
Renaissance Society at The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL (all 2006). This exhibition will be Sone’s third solo show at the gallery.
Yutaka Sone’s work encompasses painting, drawing, performance, sculpture, and video. From tiny crystal snowflakes to major works in marble, he is inspired by landscape; more specifically, snowy outdoor scenes. Many of his installations include live trees or plants, which, when interspersed with paintings, drawings, and sculptures, completely alter traditional gallery and museum exhibition spaces. Other prevalent themes are amusement, motion, play and desire, which in past works have taken the form of roller coasters, the island of
Hong Kong, and highway interchanges carved in pure white marble. In a range of diverse media, Sone explores his love of nature, and in particular snow and skiing, by emphasizing the individuality of natural forms through his choice of materials.
Reflecting and absorbing the light, and fluctuating between solid and ephemeral, Sone’s works in crystal and marble are clearly celebratory; in a sense they represent a perfect place or mindset while leaving much to the imagination. In his two-dimensional works, Sone further expores this ideal place within which particular moments may be captured: the habitat of the snow leopard, weather conditions, schematics of snowflakes, foliage, and mountains. In his installations, which are often intuitively constructed, Sone brings works in a range of media together to create environments that border on dreamscapes or fantasy worlds.
For this exhibition, Sone has created several new, hand-carved crystal snowflakes, ranging in size from six by six inches to nearly two by two feet in diameter, carved from single pieces of crystal in his studio in China. Each flake is, like those found in nature, unique – this aspect is reflected in their collective title, Every Snowflake Has a Different Shape. Also on display will be Ski Lift, a large-scale, carved marble sculpture depicting a highly-detailed ski lift surrounded by snow-covered trees. On the walls will be new paintings and
drawings that further the artist’s conceptual journey towards what he refers to as an “unreachable place.” In all of his works, Sone attempts to reveal the exquisite and the ephemeral – qualities that allude to our paradoxical relationship with nature.
For information, please contact the gallery at 212-727-2070, or visit www.davidzwirner.com
Image:
Untitled 2007
Acrylic on canvas
Image Size: 22 x 28 inches 55.9 x 71.1 cm