ARTWORK | PROJECTS | TIMELINE / BIO | CONTACT / SHOP
N O R I O
I M A I
Work - Circle | signed exhibition postcard| 2012 | 00 x 00 cm | acquired 2012
Since the very start of his artistic career, Norio Imai has challenged the dogma of artistic convention. He creates bulbous reliefs that exist somewhere in-between object and painting. By placing material underneath the surface of his works, Imai creates monumental monochrome white paintings out of almost nothing. He considers white to be the ultimate colour, a non-colour that combines all colours in perfect harmony. Imai often repaints his work with an additional layer of paint to preserve the depth and purity of the whiteness. To him, white is a landscape made up of nothingness and emptiness.
Excerpt from Axel Vervoordt Gallery
This work is important for the collection. It has a humble origin - in the sense it is simply an exhibition advert postcard that was signed by the artist by chance. I was doing an artist residency in Japan (2012) and I went to see this exibition. In a particular event organised by Yoshihito Kawabata, an artist whose work I deeply admire, Norio Imai turned up and I could not believe the coincidence after seeing his exhibition that was instrumental for me. Instrumental in the sense where I could see a line of work informing its own aesthetics. In this sense it was an important acquisition for Collection Simon Paul. At that time that I acquired this work I did not know that there would be a collection, but it was enlighting persence for me to ponder on about both my own work and the work that inspires me.
Further Reading | Norio Imai