Tsuyoshi Hisakado: Polite Existence

Now we think this could be one of the highlights of the art year locally: it will be Tsuyoshi Hisakado’s first exhibition in the region (he shows mainly in his native Japan and the Pacific Rim, with a foray to the 2019 Venice Biennale as well). The show features a wide body of work using a variety of techniques and materials – among them sound, light, sculpture, drawing, and large-scale immersive installations.

As the Jameel puts it, “Hisakado’s multi-form practice questions the order of space, time, and other natural forces that inform and shape our everyday lives …” His practice also focuses on the seemingly mundane aspects of everyday life, and his work often highlights subtle, fleeting experiences. They can be delicate, forceful, thoughtful, and sometimes all three; you could stand for a long time before his ongoing crossfades series of works on paper that feature a spiral of minute numbers derived from the mathematical constant pi – surely an allusion to infinity, with subtle distortions caused by random splashes of ink. It’s a kind of visual poetry.

Yes, we’re impressed by Hisakado and looking forward to this show. Polite Existence is curated by Anna Bernice delos Reyes and Yu Iseki following a curatorial exchange between Japan and the UAE in 2022; the exhibition is produced by Art Jameel in collaboration with the Japan Foundation and coincides with the 50th Anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the United Arab Emirates and Japan.

To 24 September.