Description
Book SynopsisThe first book-length study of Nakanishi Natsuyukiâs sculptural practice, this volume explores his assemblages in dialogue with the postwar history of sculpture as a global phenomenon in the 1960s and beyond.
Nakanishiâs series of Compact Objects (produced from 1962 to 1968) allow for a reconsideration of the role of assemblage within cultural tendencies of the postwar and contemporary periods, both within and without Japan. This role forefronts the concepts of intimacy and interactivityâas well as ritual and processâwithin the context of sculptural experience. Nakanishiâs critique of consumerism and conformity within these worksâalong with his experimentation with new plastic technologiesâallows for a comparative treatment that includes a variety of movements and tendencies in Japan, Europe, and the US, including Minimalism, Fluxus, Neo-Dada, and Nouveau rÃalisme, among others. The final portions of the book offer a wider and global context of postwar and contemporary tendencies toward assemblage, including an in-depth study of a multisensory exhibition by Yuko Mohri, held at the Venice Biennale in 2024.
The book will be of interest to scholars working in art history, contemporary art, and Japanese studies.
