Karuizawa New Art Museum Gallery [Whitestone Gallery Karuizawa] is pleased to present "IT WAS", the third solo exhibition by contemporary artist MADARA MANJI.

After graduating from school, MADARA MANJI moved to Kyoto to learn engraving techniques, which are the foundation of his work. He learned the basics of various metal processing techniques under a master engraver, and continues to hone his skills to this day. The works he has produced as a result of this work are now exhibited in the field of contemporary art, receiving high praise.

In recent years, he has been exploring his long-standing interests in religious studies, Zen philosophy, physics and astronomy, and in addition to his pursuit of metal, a material he has used since his debut, he has also begun producing works using non-metallic materials.

In this exhibition, "IT WAS," the artist has acquired a wider range of expressive means, based on his consistent interest in "the state of the human spirit," and has used these to create and present new three-dimensional works and installations.

For the artist, who always considers his creative work to be "research activities based on imagination and curiosity," all materials become a means of expressing the proposition "what does it mean to exist?", and his thinking continues to expand even today.

This exhibition "IT WAS" is linked to the exhibition "ALIVE" held at the Shiga Kogen Roman Museum, and there is a strong relationship between these two exhibitions. In particular, the installation works in this exhibition
"Work by Traces of Waves (Title TBA)" is a work created using the work "SKIN #01" exhibited at the exhibition "ALIVE" at Shiga Kogen Romantic Museum. The titles of the two venues, "IT WAS" and "ALIVE", form one word.

This method of expression is an example of the artist's belief that "the human mind is made up of a vast amount of information and the construction of complex causal relationships between opposing factors" that transcends space.

Since his solo exhibition "Antagonism and Trancesendence" held at our gallery in 2017, MADARA MANJI has been exhibiting in a wide range of countries and regions, both domestically and internationally. We hope you will take this opportunity to see the new horizons of this artist.

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