Tokyo Gallery + BTAP is pleased to present Santuario, a solo exhibition by Sugiyama Isao. This, the artist’s second solo exhibition at Tokyo Gallery and will showcase works dating from the 1990s to the present.

Sugiyama Isao obtained his undergraduate and postgraduate degrees from Tokyo Zokei University in 1977 and 1983 respectively. In 1983 Sugiyama moved to Italy to study at the Academy of Fine Arts in Carrara. Since graduating in 1990 the artist has remained in Italy, and has based himself in Milan and Carrara. Sugiyama’s works have been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions, mostly in Europe, the United States and art fairs around the world.

Sugiyama’s carvings use marble and wood as their motif. The artist uses the contrast between stone, which wears down gradually over time, and wood, which ages and disappears much more rapidly the invokes opposition the idea of different materials being affected by different types of time, and to create harmony between disparate objects. Sugiyama uses unworked marble to signify nature. This contrasts with the polished roofs and walls that the artist positions in this natural setting which represent architecture, a product of human knowledge and ability. Sugiyama’s works refer to the relationship between nature and civilization.

Having resided in Italy since 1983, Sugiyama has taken on Western knowledge and sensibilities while at the same time delving into the traditional Asian culture that forms the base of artistic insights. While Westerners see the natural environment as something to be controlled, Asians very much see the environment as something to respect and co-exist with: in investigating the relationship between humans and the natural environment, Sugiyama’s works have a gently introspective feel, grounded in a devotion for gods and nature.

*image (left)
courtesy of the artist and Tokyo Gallery + BTAP