November 18 - December 23, 2023
From Erin Cluley Gallery:
“In his newest body of work, Japanese-born, New York-based artist Hidenori Ishii, expands his critical take on art-historical painting folding themes of nature and technology onto each other. Pulling from a wide breadth of historical styles and techniques, Ishii makes use of motifs from Dutch Still Lifes to Pop Art. His tightly layered compositions hold otherwise abstract patterns and shapes together; historical reference and technical prowess come together under Ishii’s technicolor future vision.
Through a meticulous use of historical and contemporary techniques, Hidenori Ishii’s paintings visually recreate and allude to underlying concepts in his work. The artist’s MIRЯOR series (“Я” taken from the Russian alphabet meaning “I” or “me”) features circular paintings in the style of pop artist, Roy Lichtenstein’s famous Mirrors series from the 1970s: bold, naturalistic colors, and a heightened sense of depth (created using Ishii’s mixing of screen-printing and painterly techniques) updates Lichtenstein’s original Trompe-l’œil. Ishii’s update prompts viewers to reconsider the implications of reflections and illusion in our increasing online culture.
At the center of Gamma Garden is a four-panel polyptych, On the Fence – Still Life Γ(gamma), spanning the length of the gallery. Here, Ishii builds up layers of acrylic and resin over motifs of florals and industrial materials; he implicitly references the slow violence of ecological disasters and urban expansion, specifically the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear meltdown which has made headlines in 2023 for the Japanese government’s handling of radioactively contaminated wastewater. Formally, On the Fence – Still Life Γ(gamma), harkens to Claude Monet’s Water Lilies series and its panoramic presentation at the Musée de l’Orangerie in 1927.
In Gamma Garden, Hidenori Ishii applies his well-developed knowledge of canonical styles, techniques, and materials into an immersive reckoning with the effect of industry on nature and our society’s digital turn. Historically, “gamma gardens” were a part of mid-century efforts to apply nuclear technologies, specifically Gamma radiation, to agricultural production: these gardens are especially resonant alongside Ishii’s eclectic referencing of history and technology and their ethical paradoxes. The overall effect of Ishii’s work is that of a biotechnological dystopia coming into being in front of the viewer, all with a nod to the past.
Gamma Garden will be Hidenori Ishii’s fourth solo exhibition with Erin Cluley Gallery.
Ishii’s first solo exhibition with the gallery was in 2015.”
Reception: November 18, 2023 | 4–7 pm
150 Manufacturing Street, Suite 210
Dallas , 75212 Texas
214-538-1148
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