Shugoarts
Closes in 14 days
Shugoarts' current exhibition (www.shugoarts.com), "minimalbaroque" by Shigeo Toya explores contradictions, polar opposites and the links between them. Digressing from his signature style of dramatic wood sculptures starkly lit to emphasize contrasts, Toya's new sculptures created especially for this show appear ethereal, fluid and complimentary.
Influenced by natural environment and geography, Toya strikes a balance between minimalism and the elaborate detailing synonymous with baroque. Working from real maps, he creates geological formations as seen from an aerial view. With a chainsaw as his only tool, he deftly carves out a three-dimensional topography of concave swirls that represent flowing rivers, jagged peaks for mountains and indented craters symbolizing shrines and prominent landmarks.
Every sculpture is made from cedar wood found in the Chichibu forest in Saitama Prefecture where the artist lives. Though he alters every inch of his wooden canvas, meticulously detailing the entirety of each sculpture, it still retains some of the wood's organic elements such as scent or bark texture. Paint used contains the ashes of wood mixed in. Some details of the sculptures are not visible on their surfaces, so intentional "peepholes" were carved.
Like the baroque style, which sometimes means to exert vigorous energy and emotional intensity, Toya's creative process is the same -- the paradox is that it is done in the service of creating minimal art.
