Home > 亀山トリエンナーレ 2024 > アーティスト > 高氏奈津樹
高氏 奈津樹
Natsuki Takauji
Exhibition Area / Place
Kyu Tachi-ke Jutaku
Exhibition Plan Summary
Title: The Chrysanthemum and the Sword in Kameyama
During World War II, the United States ordered anthropologist Ruth Benedict to conduct research on Japanese culture and people. This February, my solo exhibition titled 'Chrysanthemum and Sword,' the same title as her 1946 publication, was held in New York City. This installation at Tachi-ke, Kameyama, features a new installation created including some of the artworks from my exhibit in NY, as well as two video works and related sculptures. One video depicts an old man eating chrysanthemums and others continuously plucking chrysanthemum petals, inspired by a short story I wrote during my youth before moving to the United States. The other video starts with practicing making chrysanthemum wagashi (traditional Japanese sweets) and gradually transitions into performance using swords and scissors, along with sculptures produced there. This installation intersects what the chrysanthemum and sword mean anthropologically as symbols of Japan, what they mean historically to someone like me with ancestors who were samurai and kamikaze pilot, and what they mean in a non-historical context to someone like me born and raised in contemporary Japanese society.
Biography
東京都出身、早稲田大学第一文学部文芸専修卒業後、ニューヨークに渡り、ジャクソンポロックやアイウェイウェイなど数々の著名アーティストを輩出した歴史あるアートスクール、アートスチューデンツリーグオブニューヨークにて絵画と彫刻を学んだ。クィーンズ新作賞、アートポートレジデンシィなど数々の賞を受賞、ニューヨークを拠点に活動している。現在は同校にて金属彫刻の講師とNY市と提携した野外彫刻プログラムWorks in Publicのディレクターを勤める。昨今の展示はNYでKapow GalleryとSPRING/BREAK Art Show、東京都美術館など。パブリックアートの展示は、マンハッタンのリバーサイド公園, JFK空港やラガーディア空港、ブルックリン植物園、キノサイトウなど。またNY彫刻家協会の展示のキュレーション、アーティストガーデナーNYCの主催もしている。
Tokyo-native artist Natsuki Takauji received a Bachelor's in Creative Writing from Waseda University and moved to New York. She studied Painting and Sculpture at the historical art school The Art Students League of New York, where Jackson Pollock, Ai Weiwei, and many renowned artists have studied. She teaches Metal Sculpture and leads a public art program, “Works in Public,” in partnership with the NYC Parks Department. She is based in New York and has received numerous awards, including Queens New Work Grant and ArtPort Residency. She recently exhibited at Kapow Gallery, SPRING/BREAK Art Show, Tokyo Metropolitan Museum. Her public art installations were at Riverside Park in Manhattan, JFK and LaGuardia Airports, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Kinosaito Art Center, and more. She curated exhibitions for Sculptors Alliance in NY and also funded The Artist Gardener NYC.
Artist Statement
私は様々なジャンルの作品を制作するインターディシプリナリー・アーティストです。金属、布、紙、木材、アクリル、ガラス、粘土など様々な素材を使い、表現方法も彫刻、素描、絵画、映像、文芸、テキスタイル、パブリックアートなど多岐に渡ります。作品テーマもプロジェクトによって変わりますが、アメリカ移民として、また日本で生まれ育った実体験や価値観が影響していて、何らかの形でのヒーリングが制作意図であることが多いです。
I am an interdisciplinary artist who creates works in various genres. I work with diverse materials such as metal, fabric, paper, wood, acrylic, glass, clay, and others. My methods of expression span sculpture, drawing, painting, video, literature, textiles, and public art. The themes of my works vary depending on the project, but often my personal experiences and values as an American immigrant with roots in Japan heavily influence them. And mostly my intention to create artwork is to heal in some form.
Website: www.natsukitakauji.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/natsukiuji/
Exhibition Work Photos