Genichiro Inokuma (1902–1993) produced a prodigious body of work, primarily painting, but during his long artistic career also turned his hand to the three-dimensional. In this exhibition we focus on this aspect of his output, presenting these works alongside concurrent paintings.
We begin with the “LE OBJET MÉTAMORPHOSÉS” series of sculptures, unveiled in 1953, as an example of three-dimensional expression predating Inokuma’s move to the United States. The human figures in Inokuma’s paintings during this period were distorted in form, and he combined wire and familiar everyday items freely in similar sculptures of animals and other subjects. It was also around this time that he stepped beyond the realm of painting to embark on furniture design and public art projects that brought art into people’s everyday living spaces.
Inokuma’s subsequent relocation to the United States in 1955 prompted a switch from figurative to abstract expression that is evident in his three-dimensional expression as well as his painting. He also applied the techniques of collage, in three-dimensional works on cardboard box supports, and reliefs using metal materials such as empty tins and jar lids.
There is also the “dialogue sculpture” series of works assembled from a variety of materials, which ran from around 1960, right up to Inokuma’s final years. Employing wire as in “LE OBJET MÉTAMORPHOSÉS,” he produced countless small pieces, from tiny creatures to geometric objects, using materials like wood and confectionery wrapping. These would later evolve into works such as Constellation, Four Lives and Songs of the Shell on the MIMOCA Gate Plaza, and Triangle and Rainbow at the Cascade Plaza. Huge outdoor sculptures over 12 meters in height were also conceived using these small pieces as models.
In its exploration of the innate fascination of forms, its unexpected combinations of forms, its breadth of scale from miniscule to massive, Inokuma’s three-dimensional expression demonstrates with even greater directness the experimental quality of his materials and forms, and his own, free-spirited nature. This exhibition is a wonderful opportunity to savor the playful, imaginative world of Genichiro Inokuma’s three-dimensional creations.