Recognized for his artistic talents at a young age, NODA Hiroji (born in 1952) became the youngest artist to hold a solo exhibition at Minami Gallery in 1977, the year after he had graduated from Tama Art University. In the ’80s, however, NODA embarked on a variety of explorations in an effort to discover new possibilities in painting. In this exhibition, we survey the artist’s over 30-year career with 140 works that have emerged from his continually evolving approach, and examine the effect that NODA’s experiments have had on the Japanese art scene.

NODA’s exploration of the essence of painting began with box-shaped forms that were in effect a kind of relief. The artist continued to develop this approach in the mid-’80s, creating a unique painting style in which he covered the support medium with a sack-like fabric. Then in the ’90s, NODA added further depth to his work by sewing, folding back, and layered the canvas. But around 2000, he gradually turned to a flat foundation, and transformed the picture plane with the freewheeling depiction of unusual images. Finally, in recent years, NODA’s has created series based on specific themes, and focused on combinations of works while also placing greater emphasis on the manner in which they are displayed.

NODA has remained actively engaged in showing his work, but there has rarely been an opportunity to survey his entire career, from the early period to the present. We hope that this exhibition will provide greater insight into how NODA has developed his artistic philosophy as well as shedding light on how his ideas are transformed into actual works. And in addition to tracing the trajectory of this outstanding artist’s career, we hope to encourage reflection on future directions in painting.

Exhibition Highlights

First Comprehensive Exhibition of the Artist’s Work in Tokyo
Although NODA has actively shown his work from the late ’70s to the present, there has not been a comprehensive exhibition that surveyed the breadth of his career since his 1995 solo show at the Museum of Modern Art, Wakayama. By including the work he has made in the interim, this exhibition sets out to examine the entire 30-year span of NODA’s career, from his early works to the present.

Important Works from throughout the Artist’s Career
Since being shown at Gallery White Art, one of NODA’s most notable early works, Work 179 (1983), has been on permanent display in the second-floor lobby of the Gobo Citizens’ Culture Hall (located in the artist’s hometown). Along with this painting,we present a wide range of NODA’s works including Work 1316 (2000, Niigata City Art Museum) and a new work created specially for this exhibition, Work 1766.

Displays of Paintings with Related Drawings and Video Footage of the Artist at Work
In order to better understand the production process that underlies NODA’s work, we present the artist’s paintings alongside never-before-seen drawings. In addition, we will screen a video depicting NODA at work on a new painting to provide a graphic depiction of this process.

Collaborations with the Sculptor OKAMOTO Atsuo
Although NODA has primarily concentrated on planar works, he has also engaged in collaborations with the sculptor OKAMOTO Atsuo (born in 1951) on three occasions in 1996, 2000, and 2004. The artists were subsequently invited to show their work at the 21st Exhibition of Contemporary Japanese Sculpture, where they were awarded the Mainichi Newspapers Prize (3rd Place). In a special display of these close collaborations with OKAMOTO, we present aspects of NODA’s work that differ from his individual efforts.

A Rich and Comprehensive Catalogue
Along with the 140 works on display, the exhibition catalogue will include color plates of NODA’s drawings and collaborations with OKAMOTO. And in addition to a text that provides a broad overview of the artist’s career from 1981 to 2011, the book will include excerpts from important articles from the past. The publication will serve as an excellent handbook outlining NODA’s career and fostering a deeper understanding of his work.

A Variety of Related Events
In addition to a talk by the artist himself, discussions between NODA and FUKUNAGA Osamu, who has followed his work since the artist was in his 20s, and SANDA Haruo, a journalist who has written about the artist, are planned. Their words should provide an important key to understanding the current state of contemporary art. Workshops conducted by NODA and the contemporary artists KAIHATSU Yoshiaki and TOMITA Natsumi are also scheduled.

Outline

PART 1
1980s – Discovering New Possibilities in Painting
(app. 30 works)
NODA’s first notable approach involved box-shaped forms that created a kind of relief. He inserted a variety of materials, such as wood, fabric, bamboo, and wire, into the box-shaped support medium. This style was inspired by the artist’s interest in the manner in which a structure gives rise to a painting, and his search for a direct means of inquiry into planar expression. In the mid-’80s, NODA began using sack-like pieces of canvas to cover the support medium and nailing pieces of wood to it or making grooves in it. This development can be seen as the germination of NODA’s current style.

PART 2
1990s – Establishing and Developing a New Style
(app. 40 works)
In the ‘90s, the surfaces in NODA’s picture planes grew flatter, and the multilayered structure and images that were characteristic of his work were created by sewing, folding back, and overlapping the canvas. At the same time, NODA began experimenting with a variety of shapes, color combinations, and textures. The diverse developments that emerged during this period expanded NODA’s range, and many of the artist’s notable works that are housed in museum collections around the country stem from this period.

PART 3
2000s – Searching for Further Potentials
(app. 70 works)
Having gained a firm foothold in the Japanese art scene, NODA’s developed his work further in the late ‘90s as the act of painting led to a new phase in his career. The foundation for his paintings, which had been created through the layering of canvas, was gradually flattened out and the picture plane came to contain organic forms made with free-spirited brushstrokes. It was also around this time that NODA was awarded the Education Minister’s Artist Encouragement Prize for New Artists. Moreover, each new display of NODA’s paintings was based on a certain theme, and his work came to be tinged with a monumental quality that stemmed from a focus on combinations of paintings, and a greater emphasis on the manner in which his work was displayed.
   
* The exhibition will also include the artist’s 60 drawings, and 17 three-dimensional works made in collaboration with the sculptor OKAMOTO Atsuo.