Susumu Shingu — Au-delà du temps / Beyond Time — Jeanne Bucher Jaeger | Paris, Marais Gallery — Exhibition — Slash Paris

Past: September 15 → December 15, 2012

“During my 40 years of work, I have always expressed through my sculptures, my exhibitions, my illustrated books and my theatre plays how much Earth is a wonderful and precious planet. Since man made disasters caused on our planet are reaching a critical level, I feel there is even more emergency to send my simple message to all the inhabitants of this planet, which is, what wonderful Nature we have on our planet (…). I believe men are benevolent. And I also believe in Art. Since the visible future is one for our children, I would like to address them this message.”

Susumu Shingu

Following the success of his two previous exhibitions at the gallery entitled Sculptures du respir in 2006 and Planet of Wind and Water in 2009, the gallery is pleased to announce a new exhibition by the Japanese artist Susumu Shingu entitled Beyond Time. Ten of his new mobile indoor sculptures as well as two sculptures for outdoor will be shown; the latest coloured collages of the artist as well as the wonderful and detailed study drawings of his sculptures will also be presented.

Born in 1937 in Osaka, Susumu Shingu conceives sculptures with movements generated by the forces and flows of nature — wind, water, sunlight and gravity. A true poet of Nature, his mobile sculptures are full of lightness, playfulness and musicality and echo the infinite beauty of our planet. Their movement is almost always accompanied by the observer’s sudden realization that he is himself linked to the same forces as those of the sculpture which brings him to reconnect with the most fundamental principle of life : breathing in and breathing out, the natural rhythm of Breath. The artist’s close observation of Nature’s movements leads him to an extreme refinement in his choice of medium, with a skillful and scientific use of the most up-to-date materials.

Each of his works brings a breath of hope and life for the planet: thus the Wind Caravan, an exceptional project consisting of 21 sculptures which the artist installed between 2000 and 2001 in six remote places across the planet, in a variety of windy climates with no electricity, or his latest project entitled Genki Caravan Yuriage, which consisted in the installation of these 21 same sculptures, this time covered with multicoloured wings, in a fisherman’s village named Yuriage in the North of Japan, entirely decimated by the recent tsunami. A 10mn video of the Genki Caravan Yuriage, realised by the wife of the artist on the Yuriage site is projected at the gallery during the exhibition.

This exhibition will also be the occasion to follow the initial 2009 gallery presentation of the artist’s Breathing Earth diorama — an autonomous village entirely regulated by natural energies — and understand its latest development and the tests realised with the windmill prototype. A limited edition of a new Breathing Earth Portfolio including information on Breathing Earth and prints numbered and signed by the artist is available for sale during the exhibition.