Maki Fine Arts is pleased to present "-Afterglow-," a solo show by Satoshi Otsuka starting Saturday, March 22, 2014. Otsuka was born 1970 in Fukushima, Japan, and his significant solo exhibitions include "Timeless Puzzle" (hiromiyoshii roppongi 2013), "Seeing Time" (hiromiyoshii 2008), and "Outing" (Gallery Murata&friends, Berlin 2003). In his newest show, the artist will showcase a three-series collection consisting of approximately 10 works including "Still life - clock -," his newest piece that captures an old clock; "Untitled," a blinking LED light reflected on a mirror in an attaché case; and "Puzzle," a blend of clear acrylic rulers and photos.

-Afterglow-

There is something called the "blue moment." When a clear day dissolves into dusk but before transforming into evening, the sky turns a deep blue. It is an atmospheric phenomenon that occurs during those fleeting moments between day and night. After the sun disappears, the afterglow continues to stain the atmosphere, and the color blue makes its appearance. A world lit by afterglow. For example, reflected on the face of a discarded clock, perhaps we can see its useful days from the past, faint afterglow pulsing through the expanse. My wish is to expose the blue moment that appears only after holding a steady gaze on the transitioning afterglow.

・Still life - clock -　(photo)
There is a face of an old clock. And on it clings an afterglow of an unfamiliar time and location, what looks to me as landscape. I hope and wait patiently until the scene appears in front of me, so I can capture the moment with my camera.

・Untitled (Sculpture)
The light flickering on the reflective image in one-second intervals forms a single trajectory within the reflection of clear layers. Is it possible to look at the light as layers of time? When we follow the afterglow found within the clear solid object, "now, here" and "somewhere else" begin to superimpose.

・Puzzle (photo and rulers)
Photographs are mounted onto clear acrylic rulers and cut into strips. Various combinations are attainable by observing the single rule of matching up the graduations. The ruler's graduations placed over the photographs allow segments of unrelated neighboring pictures to become interconnected. After fusing, duplicating, unraveling, and formulating, the photograph slips out of the frame to reveal itself as a brand new landscape.

-- Satoshi Otsuka