NACT View 04 Reijiro WadaFORBIDDEN FRUITPRESSRELEASE
2024.2.1301

Overview

The National Art Center, Tokyo launched the NACT View series, a project utilizing the Center'spublic area in 2022. Notable for its spectacular impact, the space was designed down to the smallest
detail by the architect Kurokawa Kisho. Emerging and mid-career artists, designers, architects, andfilmmakers will be invited to present a variety of contemporary works in the space, which resembles
a public plaza where many visitors pass through or linger and enjoy leisure time.
Born in Hiroshima, Japan in 1977 and currently based in Berlin, Germany, Reijiro Wada is asculptor working with metaphysical concepts and themes such as the universe, life, and time,through a practice of his own, using physical phenomena and dynamics. The artist has built up aninternational reputation through a series of works, including the ISOLA installation, which iscomposed of floating glass modules on water surface, VANITAS depicting an abstract structure on
brass canvas with traces of fruits decaying, SCARLET containing wine as a liquid suggestive of thepassage of time, and STILL LIFE suspending raw fruits between transparent glasses. At times, Wada
intervenes directly in the environment using nature. His sculptures, characterized by theirmulti-dimensional disposition, have an effect on viewer's perspective and the space where they aresettled. Wada shows FORBIDDEN FRUIT in this exhibition.

Reijiro Wada
(born in Hiroshima, 1977 / based in Berlin)
Obtained Doctor of Fine Arts (DFA) at the Graduate School of Art, Tokyo University of the Arts, 2008.
His major exhibitions include: "Before/After” at Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art, Hiroshima,2023; "Ambivalent Landscapes” at Museum für Asiatische Kunst, Berlin, 2022; solo exhibition “Marketand Thieves in a Cloister” at SCAI THE BATHHOUSE, Tokyo, 2022; "Apple cycle / Cosmic Seed" atHirosaki Museum of Contemporary Art, Aomori, 2021; solo exhibition “Embraced Void” at DanielMarzona, Berlin, 2020; Tbilisi Architecture Biennale in Tbilisi, 2018; “On the art of building a tea house” atNeues Museum Nürnberg, 2017; solo exhibition "HaL Hofskulptur#1” at Haus am Lützowplatz, Berlin,2016; solo exhibition “Forbidden Fruit” at Centre International des Récollets, Paris, 2016; Aichi Triennalein Aichi, 2013 etc.His work is included in museum collections such as Museum für Asiatische Kunst,Berlin, Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art; Hirosaki Museum of Contemporary Art; Museum ofContemporary Art Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia; East Japan Railway Culture Foundation, Tokyo.

https://www.reijirowada.com

Photo: Enric DuchNACT View 04 Reijiro WadaFORBIDDEN FRUITPRESSRELEASE2024.2.13
02Work Commentaries

FORBIDDEN FRUIT
2024
tempered glass, brass, bronze, fruits and plants

Wada's sculptural installation FORBIDDEN FRUIT consists of multiple layers of tempered glass,fresh fruit, and fruit trees. Fruits of various types projected from a human-sized space in the center ofthe work are trapped between layers of tempered glass and suspended in midair. With the passage oftime, the succulent fruits eventually fall and decay on the ground. The work's title alludes to the Treeof Knowledge, in the story of the expulsion from the Garden in the Book of Genesis. In addition tovarious types of fruit with mythological connections, including apples, grapes, figs, andpomegranates, the work also incorporates pieces of bronze resembling bombs or opium poppies. The
radially arrayed tempered-glass structure forms a sort of transparent panopticon (panoramicsurveillance system), and the void in the center of the structure hints at human conflict lurking within
the paradises of mythology. Integrating elements of architecture and gardening, this installation
crystallizes primal themes of life and time in landscape form.

Reijiro Wada, FORBIDDEN FRUIT, 2024
Installation view of the exhibition “NACT View 04 Reijiro Wada: FORBIDDEN FRUIT,” The National Art Center, Tokyo, 2024
Photo by Nobutada OmoteNACT View 04 Reijiro WadaPRESSFORBIDDEN FRUITRELEASE2024.2.13
03

General Information

NACT View 04 Reijiro Wada: FORBIDDEN FRUIT

Period: January 24 [WED], 2024 - June 10 [MON], 2024
Hours: Follows the opening hours of the National Art Center, Tokyo
Venue: The National Art Center, Tokyo in front of the main entrace
7-22-2 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-8558
Organized by The National Art Center, Tokyo
With the cooperation of SCAI THE BATHHOUSE
Curated by Naoki Yoneda (Curator, The National Art Center, Tokyo)
Admission: FreeGeneral Inquiries: (+81) 47-316-2772 (Hello Dial)
Website:https://www.nact.jp/english/exhibition_special/2024/nactview-04/

What Is NACT View?

NACT View is a new series of small projects made by young to mid-career creators working in avariety of genres, such as fine art, design, architecture, and film, that are presented in the Center'spublic spaces. The name of the series is made up of the English acronym for the National Art Center,
Tokyo, and the word “view,” whose meanings include “gaze,” “landscape,” “viewpoint,” and “way ofthinking.” The Center's public spaces are places that are accessed by a wide range of people,including not only visitors to the exhibitions, but also patrons of the facility's café, restaurant, andlibrary as well as those who are merely pass through the building. By displaying works in thesespaces, NACT View strives to give all of the facility's visitors an opportunity to become morefamiliar with contemporary expressions in a casual manner. Plans are also underway to hold related
workshops and talk events.

Press Contact
The National Art Center, Tokyo Public Relations
7-22-2 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-8558 | Tel: +81 (0)3-6812-9925 | Fax: +81 (0)3-3405-2531 | E-mail: pr@nact.jp | https://www.nact.jp/english