Glenn Scott Wright - ... I'm standing in front of a painting by Kusama using her iconic dots, so Kusama has been using a number of motifs of her work for the last 50 or 60 years - She's very well known for the dots and the dots are going to be very predominantly featured in the collaborations she has done with Vuitton both for product range and the windows, another well known motif is the infinity nets ...

Collaboration between Yayoi Kusama and Glenn Scott Wright, director of Victoria Miro gallery in London, is a many years story and we wish to thank Glenn for the private tour / interview in Yayoi latest exhibition that FACADES was given the opportunity to shoot. www.victoria-miro.com

Paravent / Social Fabrix #1, 2012, Teppichcollage, Metal, 250 x 552 x 4cm

"... Nevin AladaÄŸ combines and arranges figurative carpets with abstraction. The Persian carpet tells a story and makes it literally accessible or indeed walkable. The discourse of constructivist abstraction on the other hand wanted to make art usable and pull it back into life. Ornaments, cats of prey, birds from the Iranian regions of Tabriz, Nain, and Balochistan with their symbolism (fertility, power, and happiness) are contrasted with monochromatic colour fields; craftsmanship going back hundreds of years encounters the efficiency and perfection of industrial production.

The subject of borders and transgressing borders is here not just addressed in terms of content, but also formally. The frameworks of this order are the rational and strict forms of Bauhaus/de Stijl. Nevin AladaÄŸ stages the walkable space of the carpet vertically, as a pane that constitutes a space – that of the paravent or folding screen. The folding screen serves as protection: originally as wind protection in China; in western countries it protects the private and intimate from the gaze of strangers. The initially horizontal form of the carpet is brought by the artist into a vertical position, thus blurring the categories of picture and sculpture and changing how they are read. A top view becomes a horizontal view, and we can only read the entire image by walking through the individual motifs. ..."
Abstract of Press Release on Paravent, Social Fabric #1 & 4 images above Courtesy the Artist and Wentrup gallery, Berlin http://wentrupgallery.com

I'd rather be with you, 2012, Foam, Clay, Plaster, Natural Pigment, 50x160x90cm

This presentation is Hanazawa's interpretation of Hon Non Bo. In Vietnamese, Hon means Island, Non means mountain, and Bo a combination of water, mountain range and forest. It is a miniature landscape imitating the scenery of islands, waterfalls and mountains.

Hanazawa has been making a series of works titled "Goldberg" which refers to Glenn Gould's performance of Bach's Goldberg Variations. In these works, he refers to people and works that he respects. They are to express an important role that interpretations and cultural exchanges play in his works.

Waterfalls are based on “kanbaku-zu”(watching the waterfall theme) that were popular since 15th century among monks in respect to the Chinese poet Rihaku. Instead of a Chinese poet, Hanazawa has placed Fernando Pessoa to watch the waterfall. The compositions are influenced by both Casper David Friedrich and Hokusai Katsushika. Antonio Tabucchi was a window to Pessoa for Hanazawa. Unfortunately Tabucchi passed away this year, giving the work a sense of homage.

Taken from a composition of Casper David Friedrich's “Giant Grave by the Sea,” Hanazawa was thinking of Nirvana painting (depicted the death of Buddha, popular through 12-15th century), which was re-interpreted by Jakuchu Ito in 18th
century. Here he has placed the yellow background in forms of gold plate squares, with small animals gathering around the large stone to mourn.

Roy Ayers as hermit Ran Sai Wa (who wasknown to beat wooden clappers. Young and old followed him along. His song was a rap that told about the way of hermits.)

5 images above Courtesy of the Artists and GALLERY SIDE 2, Tokyo - http://galleryside2.net