TATSUO MIYAJIMA: OPPOSITE LEVEL / COUNTER CIRCLE
May 11 - June 30, 2001

Tatsuo Miyajima is one of the leaders of the post-war generation of Japanese artists. He represented Japan in the 1999 Venice Biennale and his work has remained in the public eye in recent years with solo exhibitions such as those at the Tate Gallery and the Hayward Gallery in London; the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; the Modern Art Museum of Forth Worth, Texas; the Haus der Kunst, Munich as well as others throughout Europe and Japan.

Using 21st century technology to express the timeless philosophies of Far Eastern art and religion, Miyajima's sculptures are imbued with a unique spirituality. The colored LED (light-emitting diode) numerals he implements are in constant flux, setting the pace for his ubiquitous subject: time. His counters begin at different times and speeds, count from 1 to 9 or 1 to 99, pause and begin again at 1. This cyclical repetition reflects Miyajima's Buddhist beliefs, in which life - illustrated here by the numbers' fluid movement - is a cycle of birth, death and rebirth.

"Keep changing, continue forever, connect with everything." These concepts remain the guiding maxims of Miyajima's art.