SEARCH EVENT
Exhibition
Hiroko NAKAJIMA und K.O. GÖTZ: Abstract Writing
30 November 2022 - 20 March 2023
The current temporary exhibition ABSTRACT WRITING of the SAMURAI MUSEUM BERLIN is curated by the Bermel von Luxburg Gallery.
Works by the Japanese artist Hiroko NAKAJIMA, who lives in Germany, and one of the most important artists of non-objective painting in Germany, K.O. GÖTZ, are juxtaposed. It is the encounter between Far Eastern calligraphy, developing into abstract art, and the "informal painting" of the post-war period in Germany.
The curators Aleksandra von Luxburg and Mario Bermel selected early and rare works of K.O. Götz. K.O. Götz always sought exchange with important abstract artists like the Japanese Yuichi Inoue, who introduced a new visual style to Far Eastern calligraphy. Japanese calligraphy originated in China. In contrast to Western penmanship, it has always been closely linked to the visual arts and has been an inspiration and a key to understanding the world.
K.O. Götz is one of the most important representatives of German informalism. At the beginning of the 1950s, he developed his squeegee technique: in rapid working steps, he uses a brush to place dark paint on a light primer of paste and then partially removes it again with a squeegee, thus achieving tremendous dynamism. His works with the paint brush, with which he applied his colours to canvas spread out on the floor, are also well-known. Götz always executed his works as quickly as possible and with great physical effort, but nevertheless, they were invariably precisely conceived and structured.
His works are juxtaposed with works by Hiroko Nakajima. She develops her abstract art from calligraphy. Hiroko, born in Osaka, came to Germany with her family via India. She studied sculpture at the FHS Design & Kunst in Cologne with Karl Burgeff and Daniel Spoerri. She then proceeded to study Sho writing with the great calligraphers Shiryû Morita and Sôfu Okabe. Shiryû Morita was famous for his novel interpretation of the traditional art of calligraphy and is one of the most important Japanese artists of the post-war period. His influence on the avant-garde calligraphy movement of his time was immense.
Hiroko Nakajima's art is far more than simply the coordinated movement of hand and body; it is rather a philosophy of aesthetics. Hiroko Nakajima is not a calligrapher or a lettering artist, she is a painter of abstract works.
