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4/11/2002

Toshihiro Sakuma

M.Y. Art Prospects, New York

'Adhesion / Replacement'

M.Y. Art Prospects presents a new video installation by Tokyo-based artist Toshihiro Sakuma.

Toshihiro Sakuma returns to M.Y. Art Prospects after his first successful solo exhibition in October 2000 in which he compared thousands of human faces by superimposing groups of one hundred photographed faces into composite portraits.

For his latest video work entitled 'Adhesion/Replacement,' Sakuma sampled human faces again, but this time he collected them from movies and television programs, and then processed them digitally so that definitive features and colors become indefinite, as if they were the product of one's memory. Instead of superimposing the images, the video shows a few faces at a time, emerging, ascending, and disappearing slowly into a dark background. These faces drift by like a cluster of dimly illuminated stains, but individually they also appear to talk, laugh, and suffer.

'At first I wanted to do a new project about 'human gestures' that would not only portray the characteristics of a particular individual, but could also be seen as the common property of a "colony,' Sakuma says. 'While I saw all these faces with their faded colors and blurred outlines, I was struck by how they looked like spirits or ghosts.'

Sakuma's theme continues to revolve around individuality and society and death and life. After his own experience of the sudden loss of a close relation, Sakuma contemplated the arbitrary occurrence of death and birth in our life. His work, since then, has been involved in illuminating light bulbs intermittently in the shape of a family tree ("Healing') and creating an anthill-like sculpture using thousands of anonymous Japanese names ("Colony '). In both of these works there exists an austere formal quality.

Although 'Adhesion/Replacement' is undoubtedly related to his prior projects, it may be more subjective, evoking our centuries-old fascination with worship, magic, folk beliefs, and legends about death.

Born in Miyagi in 1957, Toshihiro Sakuma emerged onto the art scene in the 1980s. His work has been exhibited throughout Japan, Europe, and North America. Sakuma was a featured artist at the Japanese Pavilion at the '92 Seville Universal Exposition in Spain. In 1993, he lived for a year in New York City under the auspices of the Asian Cultural Council, and, in 1998, he was in the artist-in-residency program at the Snug Harbor Cultural Center in Staten Island, New York. M.Y. Art Prospects has represented Sakuma since 1998 and presented his solo exhibition 'Colony' in 2000. His work is currently exhibited at the National Gallery of the Cayman Islands (curated by Miyako Yoshinaga, M.Y. Art Prospects). Sakuma lives and works in Tokyo.

We're pleased to participate in this event. M.Y. Art Prospects, established in 1998 by Miyako Yoshinaga, promotes Asian and non-Asian contemporary artists in the international marketplace and supports their multicultural perspectives and commitment. M.Y. Art Prospects 135 W 29thSt. 10th Fl. NYC (bet. 6th & 7th Ave.) hours: Wed.'Sat. 11am-6pm (Tues. Nov. 5, 6-9pm)

Preview and reception will be held on Tuesday, November 5, 6-9pm. Viewing continues from November 6 through 9, 11am' 6pm. The exhibition is presented as part of the citywide celebration for 'Asian Contemporary Art Week ( for more information on ACAW, http://www.asiasociety.org/acaw/

M.Y. Art Prospects
135 West 29th Street
New York

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