The Topical and the Archetypal Converge in a New Exhibit
A new art exhibit showcasing paintings and sketches from Downtown’s resident visionary, Naoto Nakagawa, is on display now through Sunday on the Lower East Side. Mr. Nakagawa describes his approach to art as the “conceptual real,” a blend of visual metaphor and practiced verisimilitude that renders topical subject matter timeless.
The six large paintings of acrylic on canvas, accompanied by six drawings (rendered in pastel, ink, or crayon on paper) touch on themes such as climate change and the war in Ukraine in ways that are perceptive without being prescriptive. A case in point is “Earth Descending a Staircase, No. 9,” an acrylic on canvas painting (right), the title of which evokes the iconic 1912 painting, “Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2” by Marcel Duchamp. “But this is about the evolution of the earth itself,” Mr. Nakagawa explains, referring to the succession of worlds appearing on steps in the background. The two human figures in front of the planet are adorned with both leopard spots and stars, “because we lead divided lives, as part animal and part rational being,” he says. “And the celestial motif refers to the fact that all human beings literally carry within their body elements that were forged within stars.”
“The painting is an allegory for the myth of Narcissus,” Mr. Nakagawa continues, “because of the unique human capacity for self-reflection,” noting the upside-down mirror image of earth at the tableau’s lower section, in which the planet is being incinerated by a nuclear blast. “Narcissus died because he was obsessed with his own image. I am trying to ask whether humanity as a whole will meet with the same fate.”
Mr. Nakagawa was born in Japan, and emigrated to the United States in 1962 at the age of 18. This experience is the basis for his painting “America II,” which depicts a field of stars, reflected by water below and paralleled by a firmament above. “This is about my gratitude for this wonderful country,” he says. “What other country inspires the world with the freedom to express yourself?”
That image also reprises a related piece, “Stars of the Forest: Elegy for 9/11,” which hangs in the National September 11 Memorial & Museum as part of its permanent collection. “I began painting the first one a week before September 11, 2001,” he recalls, “and finished it a few months later. I will probably create several more ‘America’ paintings to express my love of my adoptive country.”
A third canvas, “I, You, They, Rainbow,” Mr. Nakagawa says, “was inspired by images taken by the James Webb Space Telescope, which gazes deep into the universe and the Big Bang, using infrared imagery. In this painting, I wanted to use the full spectrum of visible light to imply the light we cannot see.”
Mr. Nakagawa’s new works are being shown at the Kapow Gallery (23 Monroe Street, between Catherine and Market Streets) now through March 2 (Wednesday through Sunday, 1pm to 6pm).