Shusaku Arakawa was born in Nagoya in 1936. After some time in Tokyo, in 1961 he chose to abandon his artistic activity there to move “just a little farther away” to New York where he based himself at Yoko Ono’s studio. In his interactions with numerous artists there, including Marcel Duchamp, Arakawa met the poet Madeline Gins (1941-2014) who would become his lifetime partner. The two delved deeply into the concept of “meaning,” noting that while people feel/think, it is generally in terms of meaning conveyed through words. This exploration evolved over 25 years into The Mechanism of Meaning, a project encompassing 127 items including 81 large-scale paintings, 44 drawings, one photograph, and one architectural model.

These works are, in effect, a major lifework series, brought together in one place for this exhibit. We invite you to go “just a little farther away” to a place that transcends the conventional viewing experience.

 

The Mechanism of Meaning: Neutralization of Subjectivity
c.1963-88  Oil, etc. on canvas   244×173cm
The Mechanism of Meaning (2nd Edition)© 2016 Estate of Madeline Gins. Reproduced with permission of the Estate of Madeline Gins.

The Mechanism of Meaning: Presentation of Ambiguous Zones
c.1963-88  Oil, etc. on canvas   244×173cm
The Mechanism of Meaning (2nd Edition)© 2016 Estate of Madeline Gins. Reproduced with permission of the Estate of Madeline Gins.

The Mechanism of Meaning: Splitting or Meaning
c.1963-88  Oil, etc. on canvas   244×173cm
The Mechanism of Meaning (2nd Edition)© 2016 Estate of Madeline Gins. Reproduced with permission of the Estate of Madeline Gins.

The Mechanism of Meaning: Reassembling
c.1968-88  Oil, etc. on canvas   244×173cm
The Mechanism of Meaning (2nd Edition)© 2016 Estate of Madeline Gins. Reproduced with permission of the Estate of Madeline Gins.

The Mechanism of Meaning: Meaning of Intelligence
c.1968-88  Oil, etc. on canvas   244×173cm
The Mechanism of Meaning (2nd Edition)© 2016 Estate of Madeline Gins. Reproduced with permission of the Estate of Madeline Gins.