MIHO DOHI

Miho Dohi’s art is wonderful. In her small studio in the outskirts of Tokyo, she clips, cuts, crunches and crimps diverse material which she contemplates, coalesces and choreographs into concentrated forms. Though generally composed of the most humble materials, Dohi creates works that are outwardly flamboyant, resolute culminations of her exploratory and tactile curiosity.

For the exhibition, Dohi continues her serial production of numbered Buttai (物体) works which she began more than a decade ago - a sustained exploration of familiar, harmonious and discordant materials; wood, copper, textiles, vinyl tape, and plaster, among others. Using materials originally produced for other purposes, Dohi draws in space, mark making without a clear destination; pushing forward, retreating, doubling back in contemplation, she carefully manipulates the materials to eventually manifest her intuitive and idiosyncratic logic. Presented as sculptures in the round, or wall-bound, or occasionally hanging as mobiles, the resultant works initially register as discreetly abstract, though upon further examination, are often imbued with an underlying anthropomorphic frequency.

Also included in the exhibition are four new (2024) wall mounted assemblage works combining ad hoc sign-like bits of text; painted, merged and layered into a visual cacophony, in their simple and direct language, these sculptures become almost perceptibly audible to the viewer (if you think in Japanese).