Exhibition Morio Nishimura. Oblivion  Access to paradise at Beck  Eggeling International Fine Art Dusseldorf 2012.jpg

Life and Work

Morio Nishimura

Morio Nishimura's seemingly delicate bronze sculptures emerge from heavy, complex structures, from »discs« of chipboard that are sawn, glued, and sanded until they assume the organic form of lotus leaves. In their early stages, these constructions may even recall the traditional craft of shipbuilding.

Nishimura learned this technique in Kamakura, a small coastal town southwest of Tokyo that served as the country's capital for centuries. It is known not only for its ancient temples and sanctuaries, but also for a special wood carving technique, the so-called »Kamakura-bori«. He creates detailed technical drawings, which are calculated with a calculator and not with a computer. These not only provide fascinating insights into the process of creation, but also convey the profound sense of abstraction behind the finished works. The layered wooden segments of the first construction phase also point to an underlying abstraction.

The lotus leaf is a central motif in his bronze sculptures, as well as in his delicate works on handmade paper. Lotus leaves, blossoms, and seeds inspire its formal vocabulary. The lotus is a symbol of Buddhism in terms of content and form, which stands for the cycle of birth and death as well as for the transmigration of souls. But in other Asian religions too, the leaf represents elegance, purity, and grace. Nishimura is by no means interested in reproducing the lotus leaf as a purely decorative object, but enters into a spiritual semiotics. On the occasion of his large exhibition in the Museum of Modern Art Kamakura, he explained »I carry the lotus inside me. It often seizes my thoughts as a memory. In an abstract sense, I am in an intense relationship with it and so it is a part of me«.

Morio Nishimura was born in 1960 in Tokyo. After studying art at Tama Art University in Tokyo, he came to Germany on a DAAD scholarship in 1991 and continued his studies at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf as a master student of Prof. Günther Uecker. At the same time, he also worked as a lecturer in the field of fine arts at the University of Mainz. In 2000/1 Nishimura was artist in residence at the Kunststation St. Peter in Cologne. Nishimura lives and works in Düsseldorf. He has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions in Germany and abroad, including at the Kunststation St. Peter (2002), at the Museum of Modern Art Kamakura and Hamaya (2005), at the Swiss Triennial of Sculpture – Bad RagARTz, Bad Ragatz and Vaduz (2009 and 2012), at the Mediation Biennale in Poznan/Poland (2012), and at Tamaguchi Fine Art Tokyo (2011/2013).

Biography

1960 born in Tokyo
1983 Tama Art University, B.A. Fine Art
1983 – 1991 Teaching assignment at the Shonan Art School, Kanagawa, JP
1985 Tama Art University, M.A. Fine Art
1992 – 1995 Art Academy in Duesseldorf, masterclass of Guenter Uecker
1995 Master student of Professor Günther Uecker
1995 Lives in Meerbusch and works in Düsseldorf, DE
1997 – 2000 Teaching assignment at the Faculty of Fine Arts at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, DE
2000/01 Artist in Residence at the Kunst-Station St. Peter Cologne, DE

Prizes and Awards

1998 Stipendiat des japanischen Kulturministeriums
1991 DAAD Stipendium für ein Studium an der Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, DE bei Prof. Günther Uecker

Works (Selection)

Morio Nishimura, Oblivion – 6 Samenkorn Nr. 6, 2021
Morio Nishimura, Oblivion – 6 Samenkorn Nr. 6, 2021
Morio Nishimura, Oblivion – Samenkorn 9, 2020
Morio Nishimura, Oblivion – Samenkorn 9, 2020
Morio Nishimura, Süßer Regen – Zf. B2, 2016
Morio Nishimura, Süßer Regen – Zf. B2, 2016
Morio Nishimura, Süßer Regen - Oblivion B1, 2012
Morio Nishimura, Süßer Regen - Oblivion B1, 2012
Morio Nishimura, gelber Sand – B1, 2007
Morio Nishimura, Süßer Regen - Oblivion Nr. 14, 2019
Morio Nishimura, Süßer Regen - K.G. 14, 2008
Morio Nishimura, o.T., 2001, © Beck & Eggeling
Morio Nishimura, Ohne Titel, 2009
Morio Nishimura, Kalpa-8, 2006
Morio Nishimura, o.T., 2001, © Beck & Eggeling
Morio Nishimura, Kalpa, 2005, © Beck & Eggeling
Morio Nishimura, Süßer Regen (Sweet Rain) - KB. 2, 2019
Morio Nishimura, Süßer Regen - Oblivion Nr. 13, 2019
Morio Nishimura, Süßer Regen – Oblivion 4, 2013
Morio Nishimura, Süßer Regen - Oblivion B3, 2012
Morio Nishimura, Süßer Regen - B3, 2008
Morio Nishimura, Süßer Regen - B10, 2006
Morio Nishimura, Süßer Regen – Manna B12 (Gussmodell ausgestellt), 2013
Morio Nishimura, Süßer Regen - Manna B9, 2008
Morio Nishimura, Süßer Regen - B2 (Sweet Rain - B2), 2005
Morio Nishimura, Süßer Regen (Sweet Rain), 1998

Solo exhibitions (selection)

2013 Oblivion - Zugang zum Paradies, Beck & Eggeling International Fine Art, Dusseldorf, DE
2011 Galerie König, Hanau, DE
Taguchi Fine Art ltd., Tokyo, JP
2010 Galerie König, Hanau, DE
2009 Galerie König, Berlin, DE
2008 Taguchi Fine Art ltd., Tokyo, JP
2007 Gunma Museum of Art, Tatebayashi, JP
2006 Beck & Eggeling International Fine Art, Dusseldorf, DE
2005 The Museum of Modern Art Kamakura & Hayama, Kanagawa, JP
Taguchi Fine Art ltd., Tokyo, JP
Galerie Frank Schlag & Cie, Essen, DE
2004 Teloy-Muehle, Meerbusch, DE
Taguchi Fine Art ltd., Tokyo, JP
2002 Taguchi Fine Art ltd., Tokyo, JP
Kunst-Station Sankt Peter, Cologne, DE
1998 Hete A. M. Huenermann Galerie, Dusseldorf, DE
1996 Kunst-Station Sankt Peter, Cologne, DE
1995 Galerie Heimeshoff-Jochen Kruepper, Essen, DE
1994 Galerie Konrad Mönter, Meerbusch, DE
0 Morio Nishimura. Oblivion, Taguchi Fine Art ltd., Tokyo, JP
Morio Nishimura, Herderraum für Kunst, Cologne, DE
Lesen, Taguchi Fine Art ltd., Tokyo, JP

Group exhibitions (selection)

2020 BE schenken, Beck & Eggeling, Dusseldorf, DE
2019 Vegetabil, Dommuseum Hildesheim, Hildesheim, DE
Colore, Forma, Vuoto – Contemplaziione e Meditatione Nell'Arte Contemporanea, Museo Comunale D'Arte Moderna di Ascona, Ascona, CH
2018 4 Dialogues, Taguchi Fine Art ltd., Tokyo, JP
Vielen Dank für die Blumen, Beck & Eggeling International Fine Art, Dusseldorf, DE
2015 All Begun in Kamakura 1951-2016, Part 1. 1985-2016: The Present and Future, The Museum of Modern Art Kamakura & Hayama, Kamakura, DE
Im Einklang mit der Natur, Wirtschaftsclub Düsseldorf, Dusseldorf, DE
2014 color, motion, form, The Museum of Modern Art Kamakura & Hayama, Kamakura, JP
Nippon Now, E.ON-Galerie, Dusseldorf, DE
2013 Renaissance Reloaded, Beck & Eggeling International Fine Art, Dusseldorf, DE
2012 5. Schweizerische Triennale der Skulptur - Bad RagARTz 2012, Stiftung Skulpturen Triennale, Bad Ragaz und Vaduz, CH
Accrochage abstraction, Beck & Eggeling International Fine Art, Dusseldorf, DE
Die andere Seite, Haus Beda, Dr. Hanns Simon Stiftung, Bitburg, DE
Mediations Biennale 2012 – The Unknown, Poznan, PL
2011 Taguchi Fine Art in Köln“ Temporary Gallery, Cologne, DE
Skulpturen Triennale – Bingen 2011. Schönheit und Natur, Skulpturen am Rheinkilometer 529 in Bingen am Rhein, Bingen am Rhein, DE
2009 4. Triennale der Skulptur, Bad Ragaz und Vaduz, CH
2008 Trepertre, Siracusa Sizilien, IT
Bronze Skulptur, Beck & Eggeling International Fine Art, Dusseldorf, DE
2007 Gerisch-Skulpturenpark, Herber Gerisch Stiftung, Neumünster, DE
2006 Museum Kruysenhuis (mit Susan Reijnders), Oirshot, NL
2005 Kunst für die Ewigkeit, Beck & Eggeling International Fine Art, Dusseldorf, DE
2004 Creation Counterattack, Prefectural Hall Gallery, Kanagawa, JP
1999 SCHOEPFUNG, Diözesanmuseum Freising, Munich, DE
Japanisches Kulturinstitut (mit Ingrid Weber), Cologne, DE
1998 KREUZGANG, Sankt Stephan Kirche, Mainz, DE
Oldenburger Kunstverein, Oldenburg, DE
1996 DENK ICH AN DEUTSCHLAND 1933-1945 1995, Heinlich-Heine Museum, Dusseldorf, DE
1995 Das Heilige. Kunstprojekt in Recklinghausen und Marl, Skulpturenmuseum Glaskasten der Stadt Marl, Kath- und Ev Kirche in Recklinghausen und Marl, DE
Made in Mauritius. Project Uecker-Klasse. Ministry of Art and Culture, Port-Luis Mauritius & Kunstraum Düsseldorf, Dusseldorf, DE

EXHIBITIONS AT BECK & EGGELING (SELECTION)

Publications

Morio Nishimura. Oblivion – Zugang zum Paradies

Morio Nishimura. Oblivion – Zugang zum Paradies

  • Artist: Morio Nishimura
    Editor: Ute Eggeling, Michael Beck
    Text: David Galloway, Antonia Lehmann-Tolkmitt, Morio Nishimura
  • English, German
    Hardcover, 21,5 x 28,5
    71 pages, 38 illustrations
  • Beck & Eggeling Kunstverlag, 2013
    ISBN 978-3-93091983-3
  • 18 €
Order
Renaissance Reloaded. Deconstructing Piero della Francesca

Renaissance Reloaded. Deconstructing Piero della Francesca

  • Artists: Aljoscha, Gisela Beck, Herbert Beck, Gehard Demetz, Magdalena Abakanowicz, Bertozzi & Casoni, Alkis Boutlis, Michael Craig-Martin, Heribert C. Ottersbach, Joachim Elzmann, Dorothee Golz, Wolf Hamm, Anton Henning, Thomas Kesseler, Julia Kissina, Jiri Kolar, Victor Kraus, Heinz Mack, Xavier Mascaró, Vik Muniz, Hartmut Neumann, Morio Nishimura, Apostolos Palavrakis, Pablo Picasso, Katharina Schilling, Emma Stibbon, Manolo Valdés, Andy Warhol, William Wegman, Stefan à Wengen, Thomas Wrede
    Editor: Ute Eggeling, Michael Beck
    Text: Michael Beck, Alkis Boutlis, Jil Gärtner, Wolf Hamm, Thomas Kesseler, Antonia Lehmann-Tolkmitt, Heinz Mack, Xavier Mascaró, Kirsten Nordahl, Stefan à Wengen, Thomas Wrede
    Design: Beck & Eggeling (Martina Löhle)
  • German, English, Italian
    Hardcover, 28 x 24 cm
    128 pages, 82 illustrations
  • Beck & Eggeling Kunstverlag, 2013
    ISBN 978-3-93091982-6
  • 30 €
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Further publications

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