Shinichi Maruyama - PHOTOGRAPHS New York Friday, October 8, 2010 | Phillips

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  • Provenance

    Bruce Silverstein Gallery, New York

  • Catalogue Essay


    The Kusho series by Shinichi Maruyama derives its name from “Ku”, which, among other interpretations, can also stand for “sky”, and “sho”, meaning “writing” or “calligraphy.” Together, the series is a Maruyama’s meditation on “writing in the sky”, a whimsical play on literal and figurative levels. On the former level, ink and water are mixed by hand, as the camera, at a shutter speed of 1/7500 of a second, captures the breathtaking image, otherwise invisible to the human eye. Moreover, the instantaneous capturing of the two liquids’ collision begets images that are more sculptural and solid in nature than expected given the substance. On the more symbolic level, the reference to the ancient form of calligraphy through the utilization of cutting-edge advances in photographic technology attests to a dialogue that bridges over a centuries-old gap. The Kusho series is an homage to the Japanese concept of wabi-sabi, which revels in the imperfect, incomplete and impermanent, embracing the beauty of the spontaneous. Maruyama uses the photographic paper as convergence point of physical, conceptual and spiritual experimentations, capturing, revering and eternalizing moments and experiences that would have otherwise never been recorded.
    Maruyama has exhibited in both Tokyo and the New York.

405

Kusho #1

2007
Archival pigment print.
53 1/4 x 43 1/4 in. (135.3 x 109.9 cm).
Signed, titled, dated and numbered 10/10 in ink on the reverse of the backing board.

Estimate
$15,000 - 25,000 

Sold for $18,750

PHOTOGRAPHS

8 October 2010
New York