Year: 2023
Medium: mixed media
Dimensions: 120 x 120 x 5 cm (47 1/4 x 47 1/4 x 2 in.)
Acquired from Yumiko Chiba Associates, 2023
The “POOOPOPOO” series is a pictorial development from the sculptor Teppei Kaneuji. The appearance of a collage-like layer structure is further enhanced by a special printing technique that reproduces a three-dimensional material. In this work, many layers of particularly strong stripes are superimposed on top of each other. In his previous examples of similarly two-dimensional work, Kaneuji has mainly used an approach closer to collage in which it was relatively easy to recognize the source material, but this piece could be described as a complete turnaround by experimenting with total abstract expression. However, the fact that this is a work of abstract expression does not conflict with its collage-like nature, and one can read borrowings from and references to many artists from movements including Minimal Art and Op Art. The gently undulating blue stripes, for instance, bring to mind Vasarely’s “Zebra.” The combination of vertical stripes in orange, black, light blue, and pink, emphasizing the strong verticality across the entire canvas, emulates a characteristic of some of Bridget Riley’s works from the early 70s, even down to the gently twisting gradations at the top and bottom. Looking at the horizontal axis of the work, the series of equally spaced white parallel lines floating at the center is reminiscent of Agnes Martin’s art. In this work, Kaneuji has created a collage of the “essence” of abstract expression. The layers of the image have completely different textures, with varying image resolution, distortion at the edges caused by the reduction of quality inherent to the JPEG format, blurring caused by image enlargement, and data glitches. This leads to significant differences between the physical height of each layer from the underlying surface, and the perceived depth of what is understood visually as the foreground and background. In addition, Kaneuji has also used a highly specialized printing method to create a sense of faux three-dimensional materiality in this work, making it even more difficult to escape from the visual trickery.
