Koji Takei

Untitled

2010

Creating sculptures of exquisite peculiarity is an art in which Takei excels. His elegantly crafted works embody the notion of the whimsical, contradictory and idiosyncratic. There is an immediately detectable sense of humor and quick wit about the sculptures in this exhibition. Beyond playfulness, however, Takei’s aim is to challenge the viewer to alter the way in which they look at reality. Taking cues from the Surrealists of the early 20th century, Takei transforms the mundane into the fantastic - and sometimes absurd. His work is a constant inquiry into the meaning of functionality and the perception of purpose. Much like Man Ray’s iconic readymade sculpture, The Gift (1921), and Meret Oppenheim’s infamous fur-covered teacup (Object, 1936), Takei recontextualizes those pragmatic objects that we immediately recognize. With his piece Soft Shoulders (2011), Takei deconstructs a wooden clothes hanger...

As much as Takei’s pieces are Cubist in nature there is also an unmistakable Asian influence in the working method of the Japanese native. A quiet solidarity and respect for the individual parts set the pieces apart from the noisy commentary that Cubism often invokes. Takei’s pieces are minimal in nature, but powerful in presence and seem to reference the interlocking sculptures...

Koji Takei works reference synthetic cubism in the most literal of senses. In cubist artworks, the objects are broken up, analyzed and re-assembled in abstracted form. These pieces...

Koji Takei works reference synthetic cubism in the most literal of senses. In cubist artworks, the objects are broken up, analyzed and re-assembled in abstracted form. These pieces...

Koji Takei works reference synthetic cubism in the most literal of senses. In cubist artworks, the objects are broken up, analyzed and re-assembled in abstracted form. These pieces...

Koji Takei works reference synthetic cubism in the most literal of senses. In cubist artworks, the objects are broken up, analyzed and re-assembled in abstracted form. These pieces...

Circus Seals , 2022 Polystyrene, wood, aluminum and industrial paints 35 x 45 x 5 cm 14 x 18 x 2 in As an Industrial designer, I was trained to perform the creative act of determi...

Circus Elephant , 2022 Polystyrene, wood, aluminum and industrial paints 40 x 35 x 5 cm 16 x 14 x 2 in As an Industrial designer, I was trained to perform the creative act of dete...

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Untitled, 2021 Signed and dated 2021 on the reverse Acrylic on MDF 43 x 60 in Beto De Volder's wall drawings, or 'Calados' are culptural, colorful works that emphasize positive and ...

Untitled, 2019 Acrylic on MDF 38 x 60 in

Steeped in the confines of domestic space, Amber Cobb’s biomorphic sculptures consider function and utility in their delightfully awkward attempts to hold s...