We are pleased to announce Sculptural Negative, a solo exhibition of new works by Kyotaro Hakamata.

Hakamata questions the oppositional relationship between the sculpture’s surface and its unseeable interior and the interconnectedness between authenticity and imitation on the theme of ‘replica.’ He continues to explore the question, ‘What is essential in the creation of sculpture?’ by focusing on the inextricability of the act of creation and the act of destruction. Since the 1990s, Hakamata’s works have consistently garnered interest due to his unique sense of balance and humorous craftsmanship, which utilizes industrial products that ‘are not reliant on conventional sculptural materials.’

In 2007, he produced Families, a set of four works featuring his family as a motif. Since then, he has been creating human figures made from layered acrylic sheets of color and this ‘replica’ series in which he reconstitutes cut-out parts of commercially available products. In recent years, Hakamata has drawn inspiration from 20th-century modernist sculpture and portraiture. And through the ‘replica’ of his artistic production, he has opened a space allowing us to confront societal realities.

This exhibition will consist of approximately 15 new works in a wealth of mediums, which include a large-scale work developed from August Sander’s photographic portrait of two blind children and photographic works of letters fashioned from carrots and daikon radishes. Following his solo exhibition at the Toyama Prefectural Museum of Art this spring, this exhibition will be an opportunity to introduce what Hakamata had begun to discover beyond the act of ‘replica,’ his singular concept of Sculptural Negative.