Cross-media hybrid art, Kohei Nawa

"When I create, I will mindfully consider and feel the relationship between mankind and the ecosystem. Human surely cannot represent the entire world, when engage in any activity, the nature should be the existence which helps to provide the solution." - Kohei Nawa

Known as one of the most popular artists in Japanese contemporary art, Kohei Nawa employs sculpture as the main creative form in his works. His most famous "PixCell" sculpture series explores the relationship between cells and the surface, utilizing media that is so unique in modern society, such as glass beads, resins, melt glues etc., in his creation of deformed sculptures. Kohei Nawa is also actively engaged in other creative forms such as video, and has also collaborated with fashion brands such as Hermès and Agnès. b.

The self-created word "PixCell" is composed of Pixel and Cell. Pixel is the dots constructing digital images, while Cell is the basic element of all living creatures. Through transparent spheres, Kohei Nawa unifies different objects, which are constituted of different materials, such as animal specimens, daily necessities and musical instruments, into the same basic elements. The spheres constitute as the "cell" of the "PixCell" sculpture, just like all images in the virtual world are made up from pixels, Kohei Nawa cleverly enables the virtualized computer to become concrete.



Kohei Nawa not only conducted in-depth study into the characteristics of folklore and religion in Japanese culture. While in London, he also studied and delved into medieval religious art. In the "Pixcell - Angel No. 2" from the holy deer to the angel, Kohei Nawa displays the poetic dimension of sculpture. Through "PixCell" he ponders on the meaning of human existence, or the significance of life. Kohei Nawa's "PixCell" series reorganize the virtual into realistic, exploring the binary relationship between form and content, interior and exterior, finally vision and touch. The combination of the two creates the most representative masterpiece of contemporary art in the 21st century.