takayuki matsuo
about
statement
"Are the things or behavior we judge as useless or meaningless and eliminate, really worthless?”
Through my work, I question the value of objects in the world focusing on items that have been considered useless or meaningless by the modern society. Among those useless things, I'm especially interested in artifacts that were changed or deformed due to aging or the external factors, and I re-frame them as "The natural artifacts". Using methodologies that are usually employed in archaeology, such as measurement, tracing, restoration, conservation, experimental reproduction, and careful handling of the objects I execute detailed research on the everyday matter to discover new aspects of things that have been previously unnoticed. And I have been archiving each step of the process from the investigation to the preservation in a series of works entitled “Modernology”.
I'm trying to execute more detailed research on everyday matter and discover new aspects of things that have been unnoticed or overlooked by using the methodologies of measurement, restoration, conservation, and experimental archaeology, which wasn't adopted when the “Modernology" proposed by the folklorist Wajiro Kon was brought into art by Genpei Akasegawa, etc.
Things of importance for modern society may not be found in things that are already considered valuable, but rather in the things that are being weeded out in the process.
biography
Takayuki Matsuo (b. 1980, New York, United States) is a contemporary artist based in New York.
He takes his inspiration from collecting found objects mainly from the street. His practice is shaped by the concept of “the usefullness of the uselessness” borrowed from ancient Chinese philosophy. Matsuo thinks of the value of things through "natural artifacts" that are being naturalized by losing their original function due to aging and external factors. His goal is to maximize their potential and eliminate ego and subjective action in the creative process as much as possible. His artistic approach is influenced by various sources including Wajiro Kon (” Modernology” ) through to Genpei Akasegawa ("Street Observation") and Japanese contemporary art.
Education
2003 Studied, Waseda University Art and Architecture School, Tokyo
2000 Graduated, Musashino Cooking College, Tokyo
He is a self-taught conceptual artist.
He belongs to Art Beasties that is Artist collective group.
Exhibitions
2020 Solo exhibition, Modernology - Restoration -, The Ace Hotel Gallery, New York
2019 Selected group exhibition, Modest Expressionism #1 Water / Wood / Cloth, New York
2019 Solo exhibition, Project Ephemeral #4 preservation, Residency Unlimited, New York
2019 Solo exhibition, Project Ephemeral #3 restoration, Residency Unlimited, New York
2019 Solo exhibition, Project Ephemeral #2 cleaning, Residency Unlimited, New York
2019 Solo exhibition, Project Ephemeral #1 investigation, Residency Unlimited, New York
2018 Selected group exhibition,"Time Difference", Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Tokyo
2016 Selected group exhibition,"Monster Exhibition 2016", Shibuya Hikarie, Tokyo
2016 Selected group exhibition, "Time Difference", Hyōgo Prefectural Museum of Art, Hyōgo 2015 Solo exhibition, "Greed", Makari, New York
2014 Selected group exhibition, "DAMBO Art Festival 2014", DAMBO, New York
Residencies
2019 Residency Unlimited, New York
Talk
2018 "How to live in NY as artist", "Monster Exhibition 2O18", Shibuya Hikarie, Tokyo
Bibliography
2018 "Time Difference vol.3" (catalog) Art Beasties, {Photographs, Interview, C.V}
2016 "Time Difference vol.2" (catalog) Art Beasties, {Photographs, Interview, C.V}