PRESS RELEASE
February 10, 2022

Nanami Inoue brings “undrawn paintings” into existence for her solo exhibition ʻMaybeso, maybe notʼ at KOTARO NUKAGA, Tennoz.

Nanami Inoue, SUHU ̲11(plus), 2022

From March 5th (Sat) to April 16th (Sat), 2022, KOTARO NUKAGA, Tennoz is pleased to announce ʻMaybeso, maybe notʼ, Nanami Inoueʼs solo exhibition. The exhibition will feature 21 new works, including works
from Inoue's representative “SUHU” series as well as a collection of drawings that revisit the roots of herartistic philosophy.
“Maybe so, maybe not.” This is a phrase that the artist often says during conversation. This hesitant androundabout phrase may at first sound insecure, but it belies a firm perspective. Inoueʼs sensations andfluctuating perceptions of the world are expressed just as surely through her paintings.
"To make a painting without drawing anything" is the constant motivation that lies behind Inoueʼs works.
Each artwork has a fixed rule that determines how the straight lines are drawn. This simple and repetitive
act then turns into an image through accumulation; an image that, at first glance, appears to look like grid
paper, the kind typically used for drawing diagrams and graphs.

Nanami Inoue, SUHU ̲11(plus), 2022

Many paintings are often composed of a separate and frontal "figure", and a "ground" which serves as thebackdrop. However, in Inoueʼs works, graph paper, which has primarily been used to depict the ground,
becomes the figure. The "figure" and the “ground” become inverted. At the same time, because therepetitive lines are the drawing of a "ground" which depicts no subject in particular, one could also say thatit becomes a “drawing that does not draw anything.” In other words, Inoue creates a suspended state inwhich "something might be drawn there, or nothing might be drawn there at all.”Digitally-reproduced lines limit all outcomes to one of two states: "Is (1)" or "Is not (0)". However, as longas Inoue remains human, no matter how she attempts to draw the same line over and over again, she will
never be able to create an exact replica of any line. The varied lines that Inoue draws do not all exist in thesame way such that they can all simply be defined as “1”. Between "Is (1)" and "Is not (0)" exists an infinite
gradation.
Allowing the reversal of "figure" and "ground" forces the viewer to swing back and forth between“understanding” and “not understanding.” Making the judgment to “understand” the drawing as a grid can,in the next instant, become the gateway to “not understanding” when one realizes that the drawing may
actually be a drawing of nothing.
In Japanese, the word “to understand (wakaru / 分かる)” is derived from the same root character as wakeru(分ける), “to separate.” The etymology of the word "understand", therefore, comes from the idea that one
must “separate the world and think about it.” Understanding is achieved by distancing oneself from theworld and organizing and categorizing its chaos. Then, what is "not understanding"? If "understanding" isto reach a certain destination, then "not understanding" must mean that the destination remains unreached.
However, understanding can not be summarized with such a dualistic definition. To not understandsomething does not mean that that “something” does not exist. Even if one has not arrived at understanding,there is still definitely something there to be understood. The relationship between understanding and notunderstanding is absolutely different from the relationship between 0 and 1. “Not understanding” has thepossibility of “becoming something" someday, and like the lines Inoue draws, it exists in the infinite world
between 0 and 1. Indeed, the majority of human action cannot be simply divided into 0 or 1. However, thisinability to be categorized is the very essence of what it means to be human. And of the possibilities thatexist within this space of “not understanding”, we just might or might not find the possibility of humanpotential.
In an age where the world is becoming increasingly digitized and we are expected to create 1 from 0, we
hope that you will view this exhibition as a reminder that the gap between these two numbers is infinite.

EXHIBITION DETAILS
Nanami Inoue, ʻMaybe so, maybe notʼMarch 5 (Sat) ‒ April 16 (Sat), 2022
11:00-18:00 (Tue - Sat)
*Closed on Sun, Mon and Public Holidays*Schedule and contents are subject to change at the request of the national and local governments.
VENUE
KOTARO NUKAGA, Tennoz
TERRADA Art Complex 3F, 1-33-10 Higashi-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, 140-0002 Japan
Access8 minute walk from Tokyo Waterfront Area Rapid Transit Rinkai Line “Tennoz Isle Station”
10 minute walk from Tokyo Monorail Haneda Airport Line “Tennoz Isle Station”
8 minute walk from Keikyu Main Line “Shinbanba Station”
ARTIST PROFILE
Nanami Inoue
Nanami Inoue was born in 1996 in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, where she
currently lives and works. She graduated BA oil painting Nagoya Universityin 2019 and received her MFA in oil painting from Kyoto University of theArts Fine & Applied Arts field in 2021.
By repeating the singular act of drawing lines, Inoue attempts to free thepainting from being bound to the idea that a painting must necessarily bea drawing of something. Inoueʼs physically repetitive actions may seemmechanical, but the more precise she aims to become, the more apparent
it becomes that she is not a machine. This difference turns into a visual
image through the tracks she leaves behind in her paintings. In an age
where we are required to create 1 from 0, the inadvertent and slightdifferences that make up Inoueʼs works allow us to become aware of theinfinity that lies between 0 and 1.

WORKS

Nanami Inoue, A drawing of 60 cubes, 2019

Nanami Inoue, SUHU(log)̲1, 2021

Nanami Inoue, SUHU(green)̲11, 2022

Nanami Inoue, A drawing for the frontside and backside, 2021

PRESS CONTACT
For inquiries, please contact:
Aya Kato, KOTARO NUKAGA (TEL:080-9528-1875)
EMAIL: info@kotaronukaga.com URL: www.kotaronukaga.com
TENNOZ: TEL +81(0)3 6433 1247 / FAX +81(0)3 6433 1257