Press Release: Tadashi Kawamata

02.15.98

THE INTERNATIONAL ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE PROGRAM

New Works: 98.1

Tadashi Kawamata, TOKYO, JAPAN

Glenn Ligon, BROOKLYN, NY

Constance Lowe, SAN ANTONIO, TX

Exhibition: March 12, 1998 pril 12, 1998

The International Artist-in-Residence Program, sponsored by ArtPace, A Foundation
for Contemporary Art | San Antonio presents New Works: 98.1, a series of
installations by artists living and working at ArtPace. Tadashi Kawamata, Glenn Ligon
and Constance Lowe were selected by the March 1996 IAIR Program Panel consisting of
Elizabeth Armstrong, David Avalos, Dana Friis-Hansen, Thelma Golden and Maaretta
Jaukkuri. Work produced by the artists during their eight-week residency will open to the
public on Thursday, March 12, 1998.

Tadashi Kawamata

Born in 1953 in Mikasa, Hokkaido, Japan, Tadashi Kawamata lives and works in Tokyo.
Since 1979, Kawamata has had projects commissioned throughout Japan and the globe,
including public projects in Tokyo, New York City, Toronto, London, Houston, Zurich,
Vienna, Geneva, Barcelona, and Munster. He has participated in a number of inter-
national festivals, including the 40th Venice Biennale, Documenta 8 & 9,
the 19th Sao Paulo Biennale, the 1993 Lyon Biennial, and the 1997
Sculpture Project Munster.

For the past 15 years, Kawamata has traveled the globe to produce architectural, site-
specific installations. Temporary in nature, his work has investigated the history and
spirit of the abandoned or forgotten sites he chooses to work with. Using recycled
building materials such as wooden boards and found chairs, Kawamata assembles
monumental, architectural works that engage and transform the site, calling attention to
the urban landscape. Often described as "spatial drawings made of wood", his past work
is notable for it's strong formal references to the Italian Futurism and Arte Povera
movements.

At ArtPace, Kawamata utilized the two-month residency for research and
development. Intrigued by the history of ghost towns throughout Texas (ghost towns do
not exist in Japan), Kawamata set out on a statewide journey to visit as many of these
abandoned municipalities as possible, documenting the trip on video. The resulting
videotape, "Ghost Town Texas," is a travelogue showcasing the stark Texas landscape of
highways, open skies, and historical and forgotten sites. The remarkable similarity of
these stark, empty houses and buildings with Kawamata's architectural installations does
not go unnoticed. Wooden ceiling boards caved in over beams brings to mind his wooden
structure for Roosevelt Island in New York; and the small scale of early Texas
homesteaders' modest homes draws a connection to the shelters installed as The
People's Garden for Documenta 9. The paradox of the frontier? balance of
promise and exploration with false hope and risk?roduce new themes to Kawamata's
work, which will likely play out in future large-scale installations.

445 North Main Avenue San Antonio TX 78205 t 210 212 4900 f 210 212 4990 www.artpace.org