We are pleased to announce solo exhibition of Noriyuki Haraguchi, the artist who represents “Mono School” or “Post Mono School”. 

Mono School refers to a group of artists who, on the artistic impression scene of Japan around 1970, tried to directly draw art languages from the ways how Mono existed and worked by featuring Mono as the main character instead of just materials. They produced art works with focusing on the mutual independence between various factors and space as well as casting a spotlight on “Mono” themselves such as stones, woods, oil and water. Mono School was able to become a common event across several groups within Japan. 

Noriyuki Haraguchi was born in 1946. He was called Nichidai School (graduates of Nihon University College of Art) or Yokosuka Group, earning some respect from people. Starting his professional career in 1966, He has been active as an artist representing “Mono School” or “Post-Mono School”. In 1977, he made a debut to the international art world by publishing at “Documenta 6” (Kassel/Germany) his explosive debut work titled 《Oil Pool》in which waste oil is poured into an iron bathtub. His favorite materials like iron and steel, tent cloth, oil, water and clay began to be paid close attention to and accordingly placed with very little modification not for the purpose of sculptural designing but their own sensitivity empowerment ability. The artists’ eyes looking at Mono then could be described as instinctive. He was capable of conceptualizing such materials’ power to penetrate into one’s sense into a spatial event. Since then, he has, focusing on the designing of materials, been carefully observing the relationships between human beings and societies, creating sensitive but powerful art works. Haraguchi still believes in his virtue of intervening in the production of spaces without making the presence of materials perfect, while seeking the beauty of materials themselves and “not manufacturing”.

GALLERY KOGURE