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Artist Statement
“No, she replied, you see I feel with my eyes and it does not make any difference to me what language I hear. I don’t hear a language, I hear tones of voice and rhythms, but with my eyes I see words and sentences and there is for me only one language and that is english. One of the things that I have liked all these years is to be surrounded by people who know no english. It has left me more intensely alone with my eyes and my english.”
Excerpt from The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas by Gertrude Stein
The arrangements of words written by Gertrude Stein maintain individual meaning and identification while simultaneously leading a double life. One where tone and rhythm act as materials and build forms. In her work, it is not the appearance of a word that is significant, but the manner of its reappearance. She knocks words and sentences apart with brutal humor and flexibility, revealing an expanded field of conceptual possibilities. Her words manage to be simultaneously general and specific. Either seen on page or read aloud they are concrete and abstract. A concrete exactitude of perception butted right up against its resulting field of abstraction has greatly informed my approach to object making.
Objects that garner my interest have a double life. There is the life that everyone knows about; a life that is part of a collective knowledge regarding objects and materials. Therein lies unconsciously digested information about standard sizes, temperatures, weights, smells, surfaces, associations to various uses. That is the vernacular, inseparable from the object, fused to it’s identity and material. What I am interested in is the friction, the small violence that is sparked when the accepted knowledge of the THING, rubs up against the actuality of the arrangement the thing now finds itself in: the sculpture. These points of friction serve as portals into an abstract headspace. My interest in materiality and the vernacular of materials is more accurately an interest in presence (and the present tense) versus Image. Within my sculptural works, the pictorial and the imagistic are used merely as a general, all-purpose tool; a convenient marker for where this friction takes place.
The masks project began as an exercise to see if this double life could be unlocked from the most time specific, the most authored, and the most historicized of objects: texts and photographic images. Cutting open old art history books from the 60’s, knowingly participating in what would commonly be accepted as a heretical activity, I attempt to surgically fashion a new face for the now dead and irrelevant objects.
“No, she replied, you see I feel with my eyes and it does not make any difference to me what language I hear. I don’t hear a language, I hear tones of voice and rhythms, but with my eyes I see words and sentences and there is for me only one language and that is english. One of the things that I have liked all these years is to be surrounded by people who know no english. It has left me more intensely alone with my eyes and my english.”
Excerpt from The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas by Gertrude Stein
The arrangements of words written by Gertrude Stein maintain individual meaning and identification while simultaneously leading a double life. One where tone and rhythm act as materials and build forms. In her work, it is not the appearance of a word that is significant, but the manner of its reappearance. She knocks words and sentences apart with brutal humor and flexibility, revealing an expanded field of conceptual possibilities. Her words manage to be simultaneously general and specific. Either seen on page or read aloud they are concrete and abstract. A concrete exactitude of perception butted right up against its resulting field of abstraction has greatly informed my approach to object making.
Objects that garner my interest have a double life. There is the life that everyone knows about; a life that is part of a collective knowledge regarding objects and materials. Therein lies unconsciously digested information about standard sizes, temperatures, weights, smells, surfaces, associations to various uses. That is the vernacular, inseparable from the object, fused to it’s identity and material. What I am interested in is the friction, the small violence that is sparked when the accepted knowledge of the THING, rubs up against the actuality of the arrangement the thing now finds itself in: the sculpture. These points of friction serve as portals into an abstract headspace. My interest in materiality and the vernacular of materials is more accurately an interest in presence (and the present tense) versus Image. Within my sculptural works, the pictorial and the imagistic are used merely as a general, all-purpose tool; a convenient marker for where this friction takes place.
The masks project began as an exercise to see if this double life could be unlocked from the most time specific, the most authored, and the most historicized of objects: texts and photographic images. Cutting open old art history books from the 60’s, knowingly participating in what would commonly be accepted as a heretical activity, I attempt to surgically fashion a new face for the now dead and irrelevant objects.
CV
Mamiko Otsubo
Born 1974 in Nishinomiya City, Japan.
Lives and works in New York City.
EDUCATION
2004 MFA; Yale University
2002 BFA; Art Center College of Design
1997 BA in Economics; UC San Diego
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2012 (forthcoming) Lullin + Ferrari, Zurich, Switzerland
2007 cuts, Spielhaus Morrison Galerie, Berlin, Germany
2006 rub, Galerie Mark Müller, Zurich, Switzerland
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2011
Bold Tendencies 5, Peckham Car Park, London, England
2010
Forms of Reason, Lullin + Ferrari, Zurich, Switzerland
Reader’s Delight, McKenzie Fine Art Inc., New York, NY
masks, curated by Courtney J. Martin, Curatorial Research Lab at Winkleman Gallery, NY, NY
Visual Voices 2010, Rutgers State University of New Jersey
2009
N-1 Transitional Relationships, Museo Patino, Santa Cruz, Bolivia
Offset, Hudson Franklin, New York, NY; Mount Tremper Arts, Mount Tremper, NY
Prose pour des Esseintes, Karma International, Zurich, Switzerland
2008
Blank Complexity, Galerie Parisa Kind, Frankfurt, Germany
Works from the Rolf Ricke Collection, Villa Merkel Bahnwärter Haus, Esslingen, Germany
The Dark Fair, Swiss Institute, New York, NY
Art & Entrepreneurship by Credit Suisse, Dubai, UAE; New York, Berlin, Moscow, Geneva, Milan, London.
2007
Art Supernova, Art Basel Miami Beach, Punto Gris, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Aquarium Show, Frieze Art Fair, Gavin Brown’s Enterprise, New York, NY
Camilla Low, Mamiko Otsubo, and Stefan Thater, Daniel Reich Gallery at Hotel Chelsea NY, NY
The Happiness of Objects, SculptureCenter, Long Island City, NY
You Come Home (the house is empty but the lights are on), Galerie Mark Müller, Zurich, Switzerland
2006
Milwaukee International, Karma International, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
EAF 06: 2006 Emerging Artist Fellowship Exhibition, Socrates Sculpture Park, LIC, NY
Salad Days, Artist Space, NY, NY
2005
I Woke Up in a Strange Place, Moti Hasson Gallery, NY, NY
Material World, Project commissioned by the Public Art Fund, Metro Tech Center, Brooklyn, NY
2004
Protuberance(s), Buia Gallery, NY, NY
MFA Thesis Exhibition, Yale University, New Haven, CT
2003
Cross-Town Traffic, John Slade Ely House, New Haven, CT
Fall MFA Candidate Exhibition, Yale University, New Haven, CT
2002
Fall MFA Candidate Exhibition, Yale University, New Haven, CT
Juried Selections, Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, CA
2001
Senior Thesis Exhibition II, Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, CA
Senior Thesis Exhibition I, Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, CA
2000
They Came from Within, Bradbury Building, Los Angeles, CA
Ping Pong, Studio Space, Eagle Rock, CA
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Smith, Roberta. “Art in Review: The Reader’s Delight”, The New York Times, (July 23, 2010).
Schütte, Christoph. “Mond, Universum, Lippenstift: ‘Blank Complexity’ in der Galerie Parisa Kind”, Frankfurter Allegmeine Zeitung, (February 2, 2009).
Kim, Sae-mi. “Emergent Artist Japan: Mamiko Otsubo” Art In ASIA, (May June 2008) Issue No.5, pp.84-85.
Karolina Dankow. “Watchlist: Mamiko Otsubo” Monopol, (March 2008) Issue 3, p. 27.
Art & Entrepreneurship. Credit Suisse. Text by Michelle Nicol, Ou Ning, and Hans Ulrich Obrist.
Stephen Feeke. “Why Sculpture, Why Here?”, The Henry Moore Foundation Review, (Winter 2007) Issue 16: pp. 14-15.
Toledo, Manuel. “¿Por qué la escultura?”, BBC Mundo.com, (October 8, 2007).
“Art 38 Basel: Startrampe Oder Ewige”, Bolero, (June 2007) p.66-67
Schwendener, Martha. “Proof That Things Are People Too (Well, Almost)”, The New York Times, (May 18,2007).
Foolproof Guide to Cooking a Steak: Mamiko Otsubo Works 2002-2007. Galerie Mark Müller and Spielhaus Morrison Galerie. Texts by Jennifer R. Gross, Lyrics by Rachel Mason.
Green, Denise. “New York, New York”, Art Monthly Australia, (December 2006) Issue 196, p.43.
Saltz, Jerry. “Yurts and Stalagmites: Outdoor sculpture as more than decorative object or propaganda tool”, The Village Voice, (October 11, 2006).
Fry, Naomi. “Critic’s Picks: EAF06 Emerging Artist Fellowship Exhibition”, Artforum.com (October 6,2006).
“Goings on About Town: Art”, The New Yorker, (September 4, 2006).
“Glanzlighter der Woche”, Tager Anzeiger, (May 25-31, 2006): 53.
“Goings on About Town: Art”, The New Yorker, (April 10,2006).
Material World. New Works by: Rachel Foullon, Corin Hewitt, Matthew Day Jackson, Peter Kreider, Mamiko Otsubo. Public Art Fund. Texts by Anne Wehr.
Finch, Charlie. “Christmas Shopping”, Artnet.com, (Dec. 21, 2004).
AWARDS & RESIDENCIES
2011 NYC Cultural Council / Public Art for Public Schools Commission for permanent sculpture for PS 313 Queens, NY
2011 Brown Foundation Fellow at Dora Maar Residence in Menerbes, France; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
2010 MacDowell Colony Artist Residency
2007 Credit Suisse Commission for Art & Entrepreneurship
2006 Elaine and Werner Dannheisser Emerging Artist Fellowship, Socrates Sculpture Park, NY
2005 Public Art Fund Commission for Metro-Tech Center, Brooklyn, NY
2004 Fannie B. Pardee Prize for Excellence in Sculpture; Yale University
LECTURES
2011 Visiting Fellow lecture, Dora Maar Residence, Menerbes, France.
2008 “Commisioning Art Today: spreading content and supporting talent (with Credit Suisse).”
The Global Art Forum, Art Dubai, Dubai, UAE.
2007 “Why Sculpture, Why Here?” Tate Modern, London in collaboration with Henry Moore Institute Leeds and inIVA, London.
2006 Visiting Artist Lecture, New York University, NY, NY.
2005 Visiting Artist Lecture, Kunst Academie Düsseldorf, Germany.
Mamiko Otsubo
Born 1974 in Nishinomiya City, Japan.
Lives and works in New York City.
EDUCATION
2004 MFA; Yale University
2002 BFA; Art Center College of Design
1997 BA in Economics; UC San Diego
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2012 (forthcoming) Lullin + Ferrari, Zurich, Switzerland
2007 cuts, Spielhaus Morrison Galerie, Berlin, Germany
2006 rub, Galerie Mark Müller, Zurich, Switzerland
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2011
Bold Tendencies 5, Peckham Car Park, London, England
2010
Forms of Reason, Lullin + Ferrari, Zurich, Switzerland
Reader’s Delight, McKenzie Fine Art Inc., New York, NY
masks, curated by Courtney J. Martin, Curatorial Research Lab at Winkleman Gallery, NY, NY
Visual Voices 2010, Rutgers State University of New Jersey
2009
N-1 Transitional Relationships, Museo Patino, Santa Cruz, Bolivia
Offset, Hudson Franklin, New York, NY; Mount Tremper Arts, Mount Tremper, NY
Prose pour des Esseintes, Karma International, Zurich, Switzerland
2008
Blank Complexity, Galerie Parisa Kind, Frankfurt, Germany
Works from the Rolf Ricke Collection, Villa Merkel Bahnwärter Haus, Esslingen, Germany
The Dark Fair, Swiss Institute, New York, NY
Art & Entrepreneurship by Credit Suisse, Dubai, UAE; New York, Berlin, Moscow, Geneva, Milan, London.
2007
Art Supernova, Art Basel Miami Beach, Punto Gris, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Aquarium Show, Frieze Art Fair, Gavin Brown’s Enterprise, New York, NY
Camilla Low, Mamiko Otsubo, and Stefan Thater, Daniel Reich Gallery at Hotel Chelsea NY, NY
The Happiness of Objects, SculptureCenter, Long Island City, NY
You Come Home (the house is empty but the lights are on), Galerie Mark Müller, Zurich, Switzerland
2006
Milwaukee International, Karma International, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
EAF 06: 2006 Emerging Artist Fellowship Exhibition, Socrates Sculpture Park, LIC, NY
Salad Days, Artist Space, NY, NY
2005
I Woke Up in a Strange Place, Moti Hasson Gallery, NY, NY
Material World, Project commissioned by the Public Art Fund, Metro Tech Center, Brooklyn, NY
2004
Protuberance(s), Buia Gallery, NY, NY
MFA Thesis Exhibition, Yale University, New Haven, CT
2003
Cross-Town Traffic, John Slade Ely House, New Haven, CT
Fall MFA Candidate Exhibition, Yale University, New Haven, CT
2002
Fall MFA Candidate Exhibition, Yale University, New Haven, CT
Juried Selections, Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, CA
2001
Senior Thesis Exhibition II, Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, CA
Senior Thesis Exhibition I, Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, CA
2000
They Came from Within, Bradbury Building, Los Angeles, CA
Ping Pong, Studio Space, Eagle Rock, CA
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Smith, Roberta. “Art in Review: The Reader’s Delight”, The New York Times, (July 23, 2010).
Schütte, Christoph. “Mond, Universum, Lippenstift: ‘Blank Complexity’ in der Galerie Parisa Kind”, Frankfurter Allegmeine Zeitung, (February 2, 2009).
Kim, Sae-mi. “Emergent Artist Japan: Mamiko Otsubo” Art In ASIA, (May June 2008) Issue No.5, pp.84-85.
Karolina Dankow. “Watchlist: Mamiko Otsubo” Monopol, (March 2008) Issue 3, p. 27.
Art & Entrepreneurship. Credit Suisse. Text by Michelle Nicol, Ou Ning, and Hans Ulrich Obrist.
Stephen Feeke. “Why Sculpture, Why Here?”, The Henry Moore Foundation Review, (Winter 2007) Issue 16: pp. 14-15.
Toledo, Manuel. “¿Por qué la escultura?”, BBC Mundo.com, (October 8, 2007).
“Art 38 Basel: Startrampe Oder Ewige”, Bolero, (June 2007) p.66-67
Schwendener, Martha. “Proof That Things Are People Too (Well, Almost)”, The New York Times, (May 18,2007).
Foolproof Guide to Cooking a Steak: Mamiko Otsubo Works 2002-2007. Galerie Mark Müller and Spielhaus Morrison Galerie. Texts by Jennifer R. Gross, Lyrics by Rachel Mason.
Green, Denise. “New York, New York”, Art Monthly Australia, (December 2006) Issue 196, p.43.
Saltz, Jerry. “Yurts and Stalagmites: Outdoor sculpture as more than decorative object or propaganda tool”, The Village Voice, (October 11, 2006).
Fry, Naomi. “Critic’s Picks: EAF06 Emerging Artist Fellowship Exhibition”, Artforum.com (October 6,2006).
“Goings on About Town: Art”, The New Yorker, (September 4, 2006).
“Glanzlighter der Woche”, Tager Anzeiger, (May 25-31, 2006): 53.
“Goings on About Town: Art”, The New Yorker, (April 10,2006).
Material World. New Works by: Rachel Foullon, Corin Hewitt, Matthew Day Jackson, Peter Kreider, Mamiko Otsubo. Public Art Fund. Texts by Anne Wehr.
Finch, Charlie. “Christmas Shopping”, Artnet.com, (Dec. 21, 2004).
AWARDS & RESIDENCIES
2011 NYC Cultural Council / Public Art for Public Schools Commission for permanent sculpture for PS 313 Queens, NY
2011 Brown Foundation Fellow at Dora Maar Residence in Menerbes, France; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
2010 MacDowell Colony Artist Residency
2007 Credit Suisse Commission for Art & Entrepreneurship
2006 Elaine and Werner Dannheisser Emerging Artist Fellowship, Socrates Sculpture Park, NY
2005 Public Art Fund Commission for Metro-Tech Center, Brooklyn, NY
2004 Fannie B. Pardee Prize for Excellence in Sculpture; Yale University
LECTURES
2011 Visiting Fellow lecture, Dora Maar Residence, Menerbes, France.
2008 “Commisioning Art Today: spreading content and supporting talent (with Credit Suisse).”
The Global Art Forum, Art Dubai, Dubai, UAE.
2007 “Why Sculpture, Why Here?” Tate Modern, London in collaboration with Henry Moore Institute Leeds and inIVA, London.
2006 Visiting Artist Lecture, New York University, NY, NY.
2005 Visiting Artist Lecture, Kunst Academie Düsseldorf, Germany.
p. 124, 129 (Yellow with Stripes)2010
acrylic paint on cut book pages mounted on linen book cover
9” x 11” x 1.5” unframed
p. 111, 118 (Leaf Face)2010
acrylic paint on cut book pages mounted on linen book cover
9” x 11” x 1.25” unframed
p. 194, 196 (Duchamp Red)2010
acrylic paint on cut book pages mounted on linen book cover
9” x 11” x 1.5” unframed
p. 49, 60 (Silver with Big Mouth)2010
acrylic paint on cut book pages mounted on linen book cover
9” x 11” x 1.5” unframed
p. 84 (Calder Smile)2010
acrylic paint on cut book pages mounted on linen book cover
9” x 11” x 1.25” unframed
Detail of p. 84 (Calder Smile)2010
acrylic paint on cut book pages mounted on linen book cover
9” x 11” x 1.25” unframed
p. 63 (Henry Moore)2011
acrylic paint, vinyl adhesive on cut book pages mounted on linen book cover
9” x 11” x 1.5” unframed
p. 75 (Burnt Umber Jackson Pollock)2010
acrylic paint on cut book pages mounted on linen book cover
9” x 11” x 1.5” unframed
p. 33, 36 (DADA)2010
acrylic paint on cut book pages mounted on linen book cover
9” x 11” x 1.5” unframed
p. 45, 180 (shell lips with tricolor bean hat)2011
acrylic paint, vinyl adhesive on cut book pages mounted on linen book cover
9” x 11” x 1.5”
unframed
p. 74 (Maroon)2010
acrylic paint on cut book pages mounted on linen book cover
9” x 11” x 1.25” unframed
p. 213 (Chesnut)2010
acrylic paint on cut book pages mounted on linen book cover
9” x 11” x 1.5” unframed
p. 207 (Miffy Orange)2010
acrylic paint on cut book pages mounted on linen bookcover
9” x 11” x 1.5” unframed
p. 91, 107 (Calder Boomerang)2011
acrylic paint on cut book pages mounted on linen bookcover
9” x 11” x 1.5” unframed
Concrete Moon2010
cast concrete embedded flush into drywall
6.5” in diameter
Untitled (small)2007/2010
wood, paint, cobalt glass, museum board, rubber ball
20.25"L x 25"W x 2"D
Portal 12010
cast concrete, steel
39"L x 24"W x 30"H
Brass Sun2009
polished brass, stainless steel
84"H x 0.5"W x 4.5"D
Stars2007/2010
brass plated steel
27"L x 27"W x 25"D each
Untitled (with Yellow Ball)2008
blackened steel, vinyl juggling ball, cast concrete
51"H x 24"W x 9"D