Hiroyuki Hamada

 

Hiroyuki Hamada #68, 2007-2009 

                  Enamel, oil, plaster, tar, and wax 41x23x20.5"

 

Hiroyuki Hamada #45, 2002-2005 Burlap, enamel,

 oil, plaster, resin, solvents, tar and wax 35" diameter

 

 

 Hiroyuki Hamada #51, 2002-2005 Enamel,

 oil, plaster, tar and wax 36 × 21 ^1/2 × 9 ^1/2 in

So I reformatted my usual blog format, not because I think it looks better, but because I can't get the cursor up above that first image that I pasted on here.  I'm basically in hate with technology right now.  

Okay, I came across these sculptures on art.sy the other day and for some reason they really intrigued me.  I can't help but think of Star Wars and "space junk" when I look at these.  Though I doubt that that is what the Japanese born Hiroyuki had in mind when he created these detailed, monochromatic sculptures. His work is industrial, yet organic, minimalist yet highly intricate.  I think that is what really drew me to the work.  It is a perfect balance of oxymoron; futuristic, yet ancient, crisp clean lines, yet the suggestion of slow decay.  The pieces are non representational, but they seem to suggest a narrative  or a history or their own.

I think that I will describe the last piece I have posted here.  The work is a three dimensional piece of art meant to be viewed on a wall, not on a horizontal surface.  It is deceptively large based on looking at the picture.  It is three feet high and nearly a foot deep. It is oval shaped and has vertical and horizontal symmetry.  Nearly all of the sculpture is a waxy mat black excluding nine rectangular shaped white pieces along the left front side of the sculpture.  From the picture they appear to be inlay.   Down the vertical axis of the sculpture nine to ten circles have been etched into the surface of the work.   The piece has the feeling of metal that is aged despite not having any metal materials in it.   The surface has been etched with other fine lines and circles, giving the sculpture a high level of detail that appears to be mathematically and purposefully placed for some other worldly and mechanical purpose. 

 

Hiroyuki was born in 1968 in Tokyo, Japan and originally started out as a painter he explains “I’ve been working with plaster for the past 13 years or so. Initially I used it to mix with my paintings. As my paintings got thicker and more object-like, I started stretching burlap on wood panels and wood boxes to coat them with plaster before I painted on them. After a while, they started to take irregular shapes and they became more like sculptures on the wall,”