Takashi Kunitani
NADA House 2021
May 8 – August 1, 2021
Governors Island, NY, House 403
Installation View at NADA House, Governors Island, NY
MAP / VISITOR INFORMATION / FERRY
Ulterior Gallery presents neon sculptures by Takashi Kunitani (b.1974), an artist based in Kyoto, Japan. The sculptures on view at NADA House are from a series Kunitani calls “Porn Site.” The pink neon lights form words that Kunitani culled from category headings on porn websites. These words are laid flat on glass shelves installed in the staircase, making the words viewable from any direction. When a viewer looks up at the neon, the words are readable. However, the letters start to deconstruct into pink neon clusters as they ascend the staircase, and become mere forms by the time the viewer reaches the second floor. Then, the lights present themselves as formal sculptures. These sculptures transform the ordinary staircase into a “conceptual porn site” only when the words activate the connection within the audience’s mind and imagination. Once the pink neon sculptures become abstract again, the staircase also returns to a normal staircase.
Takashi Kunitani was born in Kyoto, Japan in 1974 and graduated from Seian University of Art and Design in Shiga Prefecture, Japan in 1997, where he studied under Norio Imai, one of the prominent Gutai artists. Kunitani’s works have been the subject of numerous solo and group exhibitions, including: Moji Moji Kotonoha, Borderless Art Museum, Shiga, Japan (2021); Medium of Exchange, Shirley Fiterman Art Center at BMCC, New York, NY (2019); Spaceless Space, Ulterior Gallery, New York, NY (solo, 2018); Something Red, Kyoto Art Center, Kyoto, Japan (solo, 2018); Takashi Kunitani: Deep Projection, Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art, Hyogo, Japan (solo, 2015); Two Passages, Nuit Blanche Kyoto 2012, Kyoto Art Center, Kyoto, Japan (2012); Today’s Artist 48: Takashi Kunitani—The Vertical Horizon, Osaka Contemporary Art Center, Osaka, Japan (solo, 2007); Criterium 54: Takashi Kunitani, Art Tower Mito, Ibaraki, Japan (solo, 2003). He lives and works in Kyoto, Japan.
About NADA House:
The third edition of NADA House opens to the public today, Saturday, May 8, from 11am–5pm. The collaborative, public exhibition returns to Governors Island with 66 galleries, non-profits, artist-run spaces, and curators, presenting over 100 artists in three historic buildings. NADA House is located at 403–405 Colonels Row.
The opening day is accessible to the public and all are welcome to attend, no RSVP is required to see the exhibition, but ferry tickets must be reserved and purchased ahead of time to access Governors Island. Please note that in accordance with the latest pandemic safety guidelines, 25 visitors will be permitted per house at a time; please be prepared to wait if a house is full when you arrive.
Following the opening weekend, NADA House will remain on view through August 1st, every Friday through Sunday, 11am–5pm.
