Art  l i n k s               T e t s u y a    N a k a m u r a                                                                             

Tetsuya Nakamura is not necessarily exciting nor is he shocking, but he is interesting and in my view of many contemporary artists this is a compliment. In his work which while drawing the eye, does not work to keep it. The work of Nakamura typically represents itself through observation, first as the eyes will often times do, trying to focus on a piece, to get the meaning. It is not until you have stepped back and stopped trying to see the depth that you can really absorb the work and the intention. Tetsuya Nakamura is interesting.

When I began to look at Tetsuya Nakamuras work I was very much drawn to his speed king piece, "Replica Custom Evolution". At first it reminded me of Andy Warhols "painted car" work for BMW It is not until you read about the piece that you realize that this is no land record speed machine which has been fancied up. It is an actual hand made model and was made from scratch to represent speed. This makes the piece much more satisfying and makes you lament about block after block of Urban Art that you always suspect- and hope your city government buys cheap.

In the nineties Nakamura did a series of projects which challenged the ugly often crude nature of found art- see Pop Off and pushed the medium of working with mixed materials. In particular with Fat Time-below, he crafts an amazing series of sculptured figures, but looking at the piece It is hard to imagine these pieces breathing with as much vitality if they did not also follow the lighting and position. And it is with that, that Nakamura dares to take art from the traditional piece and make it a presentation which even in a static picture, you feel as if you are in a room of something which has come straight from the imagination. The piece is both playful and foreboding, as if the art might be judging you.

I am probably most excited by Japanese artists because it always seems like the Japanese want new things, they want to be shocked and excited and often times it has little to do with having shit or slaughtered animal organs flung at them in the name of performance art. Mostly because the public has a reverence for their artists, they are not kept a secret of the art scene and the coffee table wannabes. And while I don’t mind a piece which the artist must explain for clarity, I much prefer to push my own predispositions of art aside and appreciate a piece for what is, in the moment viewed.

It is clear that Nakamura is not a linear artist, he is comfortable working in different mediums. This is evident in his work, the fact that Nakamura is a blues musician and also owns a custom car shop is another thing which makes him such an interesting artist to learn more about.

You can learn more about Tetsuya Nakamura at his web  
Forewaring it is in japanese. 
Other art by Tetsuya Nakamura can be found here