Artist Talk: Hiroe Saeki in conversation with Ito Ogawa

Hiroe Saeki’s work inhabits a liminal zone on the edges of the perceivable: monochromatic explorations of the subject of beauty in nature, delicate drawings with a weightless quality, sparse compositions evoking traditional aesthetics. As in a photograph, the totality of the artwork and the detail are valued equally.

In this exhibition, she presents a new body of work with graphite and water. The powdered graphite travels through capillaries of water: settling where and when the water evaporates, to be absorbed by the land of paper. The resulting surfaces recall water-carved planetary landscapes.

Together with Ito Ogawa, the artist will discuss her influences, her work and the exhibition Cosmogenesis.

About the contributors

Hiroe Saeki (b. 1978, Osaka) currently lives and works in Berlin. Notable exhibitions include: Abstract and Empathy, Pola Museum, Tokyo 2019; Visions of Exchange: Daimler Contemporary, Berlin 2018; It’s Our Permanent Collection!, Hara Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo 2016; Now Japan, Kunsthal KAdE, Amersfoort 2013 and the 242nd Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts, London 2010. Awarded Grants include: POLA Art Foundation Program of Overseas Study 2014; Daimler Foundation, Artist-in-residence Berlin 2010 and The VOCA Encouragement Prize in 2006. Collections: MoMA, New York; The Daimler Art Collection; Deutsche Bank; Doron Sebbag; Hara Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo; Miniature Museum (Netherlands); Toyota Art Collection; The UBS Art Collection.

Ito Ogawa is a novelist and essayist. Since her debut work The Restaurant of Love Regained (2008) which has been translated into English, Korean, Chinese, French, Spanish and Italian, she has published over 30 books and many translated versions have also been published in various countries. The Restaurant of Love Regained won the Bancarella Prize (Italy) in 2011 and the Eugenie Brazier Prize (France) in 2013, and was made into a film in 2010. Some of her works have also been made into NHK television drama series and radio programmes. Tsubaki Stationery Store and its sequel, Kirakira Republic have been nominated for the grand prize award organized by bookshops throughout Japan. Ogawa‘s latest book is The Sweets of Lions. She has also published two lifestyle books.

Image credits:Untitled 2019, Pencil, bronze pigment, acrylic, watercolour and gold leaf on paper, 52x77cm © Hiroe Saeki ARTIST TALK