NAWA KOHEI Direction #89

• LOT

  872

• Artist

  NAWA KOHEI ( 1975 - )

• Estimate

  3,800,000 - 5,800,000 190,000 - 290,000 200,000 - 305,263 760,000 - 1,160,000 25,333 - 38,667

  JPY RMB HKD TWD USD

• Result

  JPY7,200,000

• Details

  paint on canvas　panel framed　2013
  accompanied by a certificate with the artist's signature issued by SANDWICH Inc
  Provenance: Private Collection, Kansai Region
  
  "Direction" is a painting series by Kohei Nawa that visualizes the relationship between material, gravity, and time. In this series, pigment-infused ink slowly descends from the upper edge of the canvas, and the very process of generating the fundamental elements of painting—points, lines, and planes—becomes the work itself. During production, the canvas is installed vertically on the wall but tilted by approximately 15 degrees. This subtle inclination introduces both uniformity and a slight unpredictability to the flow of ink.
  The ink used is meticulously adjusted in pigment concentration and dynamic viscosity so that under the influence of gravity it flows gently yet steadily in a single direction. As it traverses the mesh of the canvas, it bleeds, seeps, and drips, with pigment particles gradually accumulating over time to create trajectories obedient to gravity. The resulting strokes are not direct gestures of the artist's hand, but rather "traces" produced by the properties of the material and the conditions of its environment.
  The speed of the ink's descent, the time it takes to dry, the angle of inclination, and the surrounding spatial environment are all incorporated as elements of the work. Viewers can intuitively sense the otherwise invisible presence of gravity through the vertical lines and bleeding marks on the surface. This series goes beyond the artist's will and traditional composition, serving as an attempt to visualize natural laws and the behavior of matter itself.
  For Nawa, Direction is not about the artist actively drawing forms, but about accepting and revealing the forms autonomously generated by matter, functioning as a device that makes them visible. The movement and speed caused by gravity, the inherent weight and permeability of the pigment, and the resistance of the canvas fibers interact with one another, resulting in a delicate expression where chance and inevitability coexist. Including the temporal progression until completion, the act of reawakening awareness of gravity's existence is the very essence of Direction.
  Thus, Direction is not merely a two-dimensional work but a device that allows one to experience the process by which painting is formed through the invisible elements of time, gravity, and material. It represents a pure embodiment of Nawa's ongoing pursuit of "visualizing existence."
  
  NAWA KOHEI, Japanese sculptor. Based in Kyoto, Japan. Focusing on the "surface skin" of sculpture as an interface connected to the senses, he coined the term "PixCell" for Pixcel and Cell in 2002. With the theme of the relationship between life and the universe, sensibility and technology, he also presented "Direction," a painting drawn by gravity, "Force," in which silicone oil pours into space, "Biomatrix," in which bubbles and grids appear on the liquid surface, and "Foam," in which the bubbles themselves grow into a gigantic volume. In 2007, he received the Kyoto Prefecture Cultural Award for Encouragement. Exhibitions: 2008 "The poetry of bizarre," Museo Miro, Barcelona; 2018 Louvre Museum, France, special exhibition.
  
  Major Collections: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
  
  250.0×150.0cm
  (98 ⅜ × 59 in.)(M200)　

• Organizer

  Jo's Auction

• Auction

  Jo’s Auction Autumn Auction of Art Works 2025

• Catalog

  Contemporary Art/Modern&Post-War Art

• Date

  2025/10/23