Plant Circle - VI The End on the Grass / Hemp drawing series　KAWAI Akio

Oct. 17, 2020 - Nov. 15, 2020

Main Sight：Exhibition

KAWAI Akio "Plant Circle - VI The End on the Grass", Saitama Triennale 2020 / Photo: MARUO Ryuichi

KAWAI Akio, who began producing works on the theme of plants since the 1970s, is an artist engaged in pursuing botanical (random and unintentional) means of expression. Presented on this occasion is an installation that consists of three paintings on linen fabric, and six large Agaves collected and grown by the artist himself.
In the paintings Kawai uses a color that is as close as possible to the natural color of the linen fabric to depict lines that appear to follow the weave, only leaving traces of
brushstrokes upon their surface. There seems to be a significant gap between the paintings that have been produced as a result of repeating this austere act, and the Agave with their overwhelming presence. However, what is conveyed here is the artist’s gaze towards “time” that is fundamentally present in the simple act of leaving brushstrokes, and the life of Agave that proliferate their cells everyday through
photosynthesis.
Agave, which grows naturally in the desert, is a plant that blooms only once in the very last moment of its limited life of several decades, and thereafter withers while leaving its offspring. Kawai, who is a world-class collector, is known to collect and grow as many as 200 types of Agave.
In the roof garden, multiple species of agave, which have grown to significant scale from amongst the thousands within his collection, are arranged in a radial formation. One plant whose flower bud began to grow in the fall of last year, bloomed in August this year. The plant will bear its seed after the flower has wilted, sharing with visitors the final moments as it fulfills its life.

Date and Time

Closed on Saturday, October 17, 2020-Sunday, November 15, 2020

12: 00-18: 00 (Last entry 17:00)

Venue

Former Omiya ward office 3F

3-1 Daimoncho,Omiya-ku,Saitama City

* 5 minutes walk from the East Exit of Omiya station.