Kazumi Nakamura
Participating in the
Chengdu Biennale, Chengdu, China
Super Fusion
Chief Curator: Fan Di’an
Kazumi Nakamura’s oeuvre is grouped into distinct though interconnected bodies of work, each of which has unique characteristics that are what curator Mika Yoshitake terms “semiotics of abstraction.” On the occasion of the Chengdu Biennale, Nakamura will present a selection of works from his series A Bird in its Existence, in which the artist employs the semiotic outline of abstract birds to indicate the unstable ambiguity of existence.
The artist was inspired to make these works while climbing a mountain and seeing a bird swoop downward from its peak. Nakamura supposes that if one interprets all existence as capable of some form of flight, humankind is able to reverse even malevolent and tragic conditions like an airborne bird. According to the artist, these paintings are meant to “stimulate thought about the general state of existence through the form and conception of the ‘bird.’ Birds are flying beings. In ancient Japan they signified the souls of ancestors who protect their descendants, blessing people and bringing happiness. From the peak of a mountain, a bird flies downwards. I perceive this as an extension of the general state of existence.”
About the Chengdu Biennale
Super Fusion: the 2021 Chengdu Biennale aims to present the vitality of art creation in today’s world, promote international cultural exchanges as well as cooperation, and build a pluralistic and inclusive ecology of human culture. The exhibition will take place at Chengdu Museum of Contemporary Art and Tianfu Gallery, and consists of eight sections (Polymorphic Co-Existence, Homeland Co-Inhabitation, Technological Co-Vibration, Youth Co-Ignited, Ecological Co-Development, Craftsmanship Co-Operation, Snowfield Co-Creation and Art Co-Education) plus “Future Co-Planned,” an international forum for gallery directors.