Adam Avikainen
Martin van Zomeren is pleased to present 鈥楰aki Kuchi鈥�, the second solo exhibition of Adam Avikainen at the gallery. 鈥楰aki鈥� and 鈥楰uchi鈥� are Japanese words. 鈥楰aki鈥� refers to the components of the works in the show and can have several meanings: 鈥榩ersimmon鈥�, 鈥榦yster鈥� and 鈥榯o write鈥�. The translation of 鈥楰uchi鈥� is 鈥榤outh鈥� or 鈥榞ate鈥�. Both words allude to the fact that Adam brake his winter fast with persimmons and oysters, thereby opening a gate.
The body of work on display are the second episode of a trilogy started in 2011 in Japan after the tsunami and Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. Two long paintings cover the exhibition walls and one organic sculpture, evolved from a painting, spreads out in the space together with a complex smell. They were made in Japan where the artist applied daily, for two months, layers of oysters, persimmons or indigo on Kozo Washi, a traditional handmade Japanese paper made from the Kozo plant which is generally used in a wide range of products including shoji (lattice screens), fusuma (sliding doors), umbrellas, kites, toys, and lanterns.
The ambient temperature of a mountainous shoe factory freezing at night and other atmospheric qualities interacted with the paper and kept changing the paintings. Site-responsive and transitory for their own nature, these works act as a self portrait of the materials Adam Avikainen used, a collaborative dance of the artist with 鈥楰aki鈥�. They are beings, telling us their stories. The stories that the artist translates for us are the following:
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Martin van Zomeren is pleased to present 鈥楰aki Kuchi鈥�, the second solo exhibition of Adam Avikainen at the gallery. 鈥楰aki鈥� and 鈥楰uchi鈥� are Japanese words. 鈥楰aki鈥� refers to the components of the works in the show and can have several meanings: 鈥榩ersimmon鈥�, 鈥榦yster鈥� and 鈥榯o write鈥�. The translation of 鈥楰uchi鈥� is 鈥榤outh鈥� or 鈥榞ate鈥�. Both words allude to the fact that Adam brake his winter fast with persimmons and oysters, thereby opening a gate.
The body of work on display are the second episode of a trilogy started in 2011 in Japan after the tsunami and Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. Two long paintings cover the exhibition walls and one organic sculpture, evolved from a painting, spreads out in the space together with a complex smell. They were made in Japan where the artist applied daily, for two months, layers of oysters, persimmons or indigo on Kozo Washi, a traditional handmade Japanese paper made from the Kozo plant which is generally used in a wide range of products including shoji (lattice screens), fusuma (sliding doors), umbrellas, kites, toys, and lanterns.
The ambient temperature of a mountainous shoe factory freezing at night and other atmospheric qualities interacted with the paper and kept changing the paintings. Site-responsive and transitory for their own nature, these works act as a self portrait of the materials Adam Avikainen used, a collaborative dance of the artist with 鈥楰aki鈥�. They are beings, telling us their stories. The stories that the artist translates for us are the following:
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