Yoshiko Nakahara: Metronome

Nakahara’s new exhibition explores the musicality of her drawings. Rhythm and movement are evoked through the repetition of lines and patterns, while dynamics are suggested through their careful layering and arrangement. Warm Winter delivers a steady repetition of a single form, woven into an intricate mass that seems to shift under the viewer’s gaze, while Flutter, again consisting mostly of a pattern of repeated forms, foregoes a steady compositional rhythm in exchange for a dramatic, dynamic force that compels the viewer to follow its spiralling forms and tangents.

The representation of natural forms and conditions remains essential to Nakahara’s practice, and her virtuosity in this regard is evident in a number of these new works. In Requiem II, for instance, a single repeated line is used to evoke complex environmental conditions at play against botanical forms. Though colour is rejected by the artist, she remains in total control of light and tone, relying only on the placement of lines to create these subtle tonal shifts.

The intricacy of Nakahara’s work creates a viewing experience that is much more intimate than usual. The small scale of her pieces demands contemplation from the individual viewer, offering a moment of personal reflection rather than intellectual analysis. Nakahara’s work engages at the level of the senses and appeals to an innate bond with the natural world; her flawless renderings and thoughtful compositions capture a sense of the sublime.

Event listed by SandersonArt

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