Nobuaki Takekawa

Nobuaki Takekawa creates a wide array of works ranging from painting to drawing, sculpture and installation art. His works, while based on his personal identity or interests, are also concerned with topics in the vortex of social and political matters. Although these serious and comprehensive issues, which anyone can be involved in, are key themes in his works, the motifs which he selects - such as milk cartons or bad teeth - are rich in his original sense and humor. Therefore, his works are friendly to the viewer as they do not necessarily require prior knowledge of art. Nevertheless, the artist's critical attitude towards the contemporary society and politics is hidden within the contexts of his works. He makes reference to the "Age of Great Voyage" or "Economic History", from the vast history of nature and humankind, in establishing the grand narratives in his work.

While the style of Takekawa's art practice is very fluid, as if inspired by the flow of oceans and waves (important motifs in his work), its basis can be found in his constant research on the orthodox technique of painting, as well as an awareness of the sense of time outside the human world, obtained from his observation of organisms such as cicada, seashell and sea cucumber. With his unique expression born from these roots, Takekawa aims to construct a new relationship between the expression of traditional Western and Asian art by putting aside the old practice of art history.

Sharing Takekawa's multi-faceted views and narratives which involve the sense of time and history, viewers are able to reflect on their own "place and position", in the same way one would read maps (also a significant motif in his work). Such openness is one of the unique qualities of his work.

Nobuaki Takekawa was born in Tokyo, Japan, in 1977 and completed BA in Fine Arts at the Tokyo University of the Arts in 2002. In the same year, he presented his first solo exhibition at Ota Fine Arts (Tokyo). In recent years, he has participated in various exhibitions in Japan and abroad - "Portrait Session" (Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art, Hiroshima, 2007), "Real Japanesque: The Unique World of Japanese Contemporary" (The National Museum of Art, Osaka, 2012), "12th Biennale de Lyon" (Musée d'art contemporain de Lyon, Lyon, 2013), etc. - while also participating in street activities, including protest demonstrations. Takekawa always pursues new methods of expression, questioning the relation between the society/ history and individuals by crossing various boundaries in the field of art.