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What do you want to know: Postwar Japanese Conceptual Artist Keiji Uematsu (b. 1947) is associated with the Mono-ha art movement, which translates to “the school of things” and is made up of a group of 20th-century artists who explore the possibilities and boundaries between natural materials and industrial. Throughout his practice, Uematsu has constantly sought to situate the relationship between object and space and to make this invisible relationship visible. Currently on view until July 29, 2023, Baudoin LebonParis, presents the personal exhibition “Keiji Uematsu: looking back on the past from the futurewhich includes works throughout the artist’s more than five-decade career. By emphasizing the influence of time and temporality, the show delves into Uematsu’s inimitable artistic perception of physicality, objectivity, and the myriad aspects and effects of context. Presenting key photographic series from the 1970s to recent drawings and sculptures, the exhibition is an opportunity to retrace both the exploratory evolution of the artist and of contemporary art.
Why we love it: Uematsu’s work is indicative of a historical shift in seismic art in the realm of contemporary art, particularly its aims and execution. Parallels between Uematsu’s early work can be seen in the work of contemporary artists such as the photographic pieces of Bruce Nauman Self-portrait in fountain (1968) and Wall and floor positions (1968), as well as an antecedent to projects like Ai Weiwei’s 1995 Drop a Han Dynasty Urn (1995). from Uematsu See II – Flower (1975) and Interval – Three sones (1976), both included in the present exhibition, engage in dominant and personal investigations of physical objects and how they are perceived based on changes in their spatial arrangement – the artist’s own hands and its shadow being used as compositing elements to effect these changes. An intriguing recent work, Floating Stone – Earthrise (2020) illustrates Uematsu’s commitment to this investigation. Featuring a stone hovering over the moon, with the earth shown against a black sky, the interplay of object and space has evolved both thematically and materially, created through an inkjet printing process modern. Together, the works in the exhibition testify to the artist’s coherent work and his perpetually focused vision.
According to the Artist: “I want to discover something by making the structure, existence and relationships of the world more visible. I worked with the idea of making invisible things visible. Sometimes it is an interest in invisible, universal forces such as gravity and the attraction between things, or a simple interest in fundamental objects and cosmic forces. It is also an investigation into the existence of human beings surrounded by nature, the earth and the universe.
I used to say “look at the past and see the future”, but this time I used the expression “look at the past from the future”. The word that currently comes to mind is “the border between the known and the unknown”. I believe that works of art are born from the border between knowledge and the unknown. The resulting work contains an orientation towards the unknown future. The work exhibited here is the past seen from the future, and the present is also the past seen from the future. The future becomes the present, which becomes the past, and the future continues forever. The future becomes the present, the past becomes the past, and the future continues forever. And the work continues to be done, and it breathes all the time.
The deeper the expression of the past, the deeper and denser the thoughts about the future, the stronger the expression of the present. I believe that the attitude of the past towards the future shapes the present. I always hope to create a place where people who see my work can share the artist’s spirituality that exists beyond time, and a small cosmic space where they can become one with the work and feel it with their bodies.
See the interior of the exhibition and the works presented below.
Keiji Uematsu, Stone / Rope / Man III (1974). © Keiji Uematsu. Courtesy of Baudoin Lebon, Paris.
Keiji Uematsu, See II – Flower (1975). © Keiji Uematsu. Courtesy of Baudoin Lebon, Paris.
Installation view of “Keiji Uematsu: Looking at the Past from the Future” (2023). Courtesy of Baudoin Lebon, Paris.
Installation view of “Keiji Uematsu: Looking at the Past from the Future” (2023). Courtesy of Baudoin Lebon, Paris.
Installation view of “Keiji Uematsu: Looking at the Past from the Future” (2023). Courtesy of Baudoin Lebon, Paris.
“Keiji Uematsu: looking at the past from the futureis on view at Baudoin Lebon, Paris, until July 29, 2023.
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