In May, Gallery NYCoo will hold a one-person exhibition of paintings by Yasushi Noguchi in which gold, silver, and platinum-leaf are　handled with expertise.  Noguchi is from Nishijin in Kyoto, and is the fourth generation master of “Noguchi,” a shop founded in 1880 specializing in the metallic leaf threads that have been woven into the world-renowned Nishijin obi sash for centuries.  He is an artisan in the true sense of the word with 36 years of experience.  The accumulated knowledge and experience of the techniques are the basis for his own creation and expression in this New York show.

Noguchi says, “The gold leaf that I make is hardly ever seen in its original form, but has been seen by people all over the world, woven into the brocaded obi used to tie kimono.”  He is transcending the accepted norm and habits of Kyoto’s traditional society by exhibiting his own individualistic visual world here in New York, and it is worth seeing in this rare occasion. I encourage you to visit the gallery during this show.

Noguchi’s pursuit of photography in his younger days was disrupted by the student uprising of 1968, but his desire, though not realized, to seek imagery through the camera lens continued through the 30 years that he devoted to his family trade.  During those years, he visited many places, Egypt, China, and Europe to seek how gold is reflected in those cultures.  In his travels, many images became imprinted on his mind.  These are the scribbled lines on an wall in the ancient world, what remained in that moment when he closed and opened his eyes once again like a shutter of a camera in the brilliant reflection of the sun somewhere in Egypt or on the Mediterranean, the shape of rhythm that arise from the Japanese expression of flowing water, and the Jean Arp-like nude that may appear in a blink of an eye, resulted in this exhibition.   It was in Kyoto that Noguchi had his first one-person exhibition in 2004, which was inspired by his younger son who won a grad prix in an art exhibition.  The NYCoo show is his third exhibition.

The works should be categorized as modernistic and abstract.  It is reminiscent of the mid 1960s when he first gained consciousness of art.  For this artist, a show in New York bears significance by the relocation of his work to a different environment in turn giving him an objective point of view and becoming aware of his work in a historical context.  This will surely contribute to the next phase of his exploration.  I am eager to see the actual works in May after seeing only the photographs, and I also look forward to his many exhibitions to follow.

To give warm support to future exhibitions, I encourage you to come to the opening or to the show for its duration.

Gallery writer: Hitoshi Nakazato
Translation : Sumiko Takeda