Endless Possibilities: Geometric Abstraction
The UBS Lounge at Art Basel in Basel 2025 features works in the UBS Art Collection by international artists who engage with geometric abstraction.
Kishio Suga
(Born 1944, Japan; lives and works in Itō)
'Nullification of Equivalence', 2019
Wood, acrylic
120.2 x 90 x 9.7 cm
©︎ Kishio Suga, Courtesy of Tomio Koyama Gallery
Photo by Kenji Takahashi
Kishio Suga was a central member of the Tokyo-based art movement Mono-ha, translated as “school of things,” that was active from the mid-1960s to the 1970s. Mono-ha artists explored the encounters between natural and industrial materials, such as stone, glass, cotton, sponge, paper, wood, wire, rope and water. They utilized these materials in unaltered and ephemeral states and encouraged viewers to contemplate the relationship between themselves, the objects and the world.
In recent years, Suga has continued to experiment with materials, liberating mundane objects from their usual purposes and forms. He creates three-dimensional abstract works that interact with the spaces in which they are hung. The striking red paint of Nullification of Equivalence (2019) is a unique feature in comparison to other works by the artist, which tend to have more muted tones. Mono-ha shares formal and conceptual qualities with Minimalism and Suga placed the wood pieces of varying sizes in a geometric, grid-like arrangement across the red surface, creating unexpected rhythms, energies and imbalances.
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