The James Cohan Gallery Shows Solo of Tabaimo's Video Art

Written by Petula Catterwaul Sunday, 02 October 2011 00:07

New York City.- The James Cohan Gallery is proud to present a solo exhibition by Japanese artist Tabaimo running through October 29th. This is the third solo gallery exhibition by the 35-year old Tabaimo, who is recognized as one of Japan’s leading artists and is well-known for her hand-drawn animations whose coloration bring to mind traditional ukiyo-e prints. Currently, Tabaimo is representing Japan at the 54th Venice Biennale with her work "teleco-soup" an immersive multi-media environment that transforms the Japan Pavilion into the interior of a well, where the reflected world is inverted and boundaries between water and sky, self and world, real and imagined are fluid.

Taking on both the roll as social critic and voice of those born in the mid 1970’s, Tabaimo strives to understand the space between the generations. As globalization has reached the island nation that once prided itself on its isolationism, the traditional life of the communal is breaking down and the contemporary desire towards individualization is taking over. Tabaimo’s work offers an unblinking look at contemporary Japanese society as a mirror in which to view herself and the other members of her generation caught in the crossfire of these societal shifts. Her works capture the anxiety that is a constant reality in a land whose terra firma is less than stable, while their tone remains detached and low-key. Her images of oft repeated motifs including cityscapes, interior spaces, hands, brains, hair, insects, plants and water hover between the disturbingly surreal and the stylishly cool. Two of the works on view at James Cohan Gallery "Blow" and "danDAN" were first shown in 'Tabaimo: Danmen' a solo exhibition in 2009 that originated at the Yokohama Museum of Art and travelled to the National Museum of Art, Osaka. These two works are multi-channel video and sound installations presented on elaborately built stage sets. In addition, the exhibition features Guignorama which is a single-channel work first exhibited in the artist’s solo exhibition at the Hara Museum in 2006. This gallery exhibition marks the first time these works are shown in the United States.


The central work in the main gallery, "Blow", 2009 depicts a watery world projected onto a curved, double half pipe ramp. The viewer is invited to walk through the seamless, multi-channel projection that moves across this bowl-shaped cross-section, in which human bones, organs and blood vessels emerge from a watery world and transform into flower blossoms that recall the origins of life emerging from the primordial soup. In Gallery 3, "danDan", 2009 is a work projected onto three angled panels that run vertically from floor to ceiling to create a deep perspective. It portrays the interior space of a housing complex of multiple dwelling units with a cut-away view into different apartments—the viewer peers into the rooms inhabited by a slob next to those of a neat-nik. In what appear to be still domestic spaces, strange events happen; birds fly inside rooms, a woman spins in a washing machine, a man walks into a refrigerator, the peck of a bird’s beak causes blood to flow from of a bed, and clothes turn into birds and fly away.In the front gallery, "Guignorama", 2006 is a single channel work projected on a wall where blue-veined hands grasp, grapple and lock together in an ever-moving diorama—the pulsating blood vessels creating an emotionally fraught landscape. The artist had severe eczema as a youth and as a result of her suffering from this itchy disease, hands and skin have come to represent the boundary between interior and exterior worlds—individual and communal, self and society. Other works by the artist, although not in the exhibition, are available through the gallery.

Tabaimo was born in Kobe, Japan in 1975. Her work has been exhibited and collected widely around the world. Recent important solo exhibitions include: Tabaimo: teleco-soup, Japanese Pavilion, 54th Venice Biennale, 2010; Tabaimo: Boundary Layer, Parasol unit foundation for contemporary art, London, 2010; TABAIMO: Danmen, Yokahama Museum of Art, Tokyo, (travelled to the National Museum of Art, Osaka) 2009-10; Tabaimo, Moderna Museet, Stockholm, 2009; Tabaimo, Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, Paris, 2006; YOROYORON: Tabaimo, Hara Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, 2006. International group exhibitions include: the Yokohama Triennale, 2001; the Sao Paolo Biennale, 2002; the 15th Biennale of Sydney, Australia, 2006; and the 52nd International Venice Biennale, 2007. Among the museums that have collected Tabaimo’s work are the Yokahama Museum of Art, Tokyo; National Museum of Art, Osaka; Hara Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo; the Israel Museum, Jerusalem; MUSAC, Spain; Fondation Cartier, Paris; Moderna Museet, Stockholm; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA; and the Museum of Modern Art, New York.


James Cohan Gallery opened in New York City in September 1999 with an inaugural exhibition of early photo-pieces by Gilbert & George. The focus of the gallery is on international contemporary art with an on-going exhibition programs that includes the work of established and emerging artists. In addition to representing and building the careers of artists on the roster, the gallery maintains an active business in the sales of works and selected exhibitions by other modern and contemporary masters. Alongside the vibrant program of solo artists’ exhibitions, the gallery distinguishes itself through the mounting of thematic group exhibitions that explore topics throughout history. Past exhibitions titles include; The Passions, Between the Lines, Realm of the Senses, Cosmologies and Mask. James Cohan Gallery Shanghai opened July 2008 in the French Concession quarter of Shanghai with a group exhibition entitled, Mining Nature. Visit the gallery's website at ... http://www.jamescohan.com

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