Spirit in the Sky: Shinichi Maruyama's Kusho Lands in Chelsea

by Beth S. Gersh-Nesic

Shinichi Maruyama arcing ink into the air.
Photo courtesy of Bruce Silverstein Gallery, New York


Shinichi Maruyama hurls black India ink into water (or visa versa) and photographs the millisecond that these two liquids collide. Capable of capturing this phenomenon at a 7,500th of a second, Maruyama takes full advantage of a recent advancement in strobe light technology which can record physical events faster than the naked eye can perceive them. In the series Kusho, which means "writing in the sky," Maruyama's goal is to arrest in space and time the sublime intersection of two different media before they merge into one. In some respects, the project resembles a scientific experiment, but in Maruyama's artistic hands, the total action becomes a form of Shodo (Japanese calligraphy) performance--with the gesture executed in the air rather than on the flat surface of the paper.


Shinichi Maruyama (Japanese, b. 1968)
Kusho #1, 2006
Archival pigment print
Two editions of 10 prints;
30 x 24 in. and 54 x 44 in.
Courtesy of Bruce Silverstein Gallery, New York
© 2009 Shinichi Maruyama


Twenty-three photographs of Kusho performances are currently on view at Bruce Silverstein, a gallery in the Chelsea section of New York City. These large-scale photographs of predominantly white space seem to enshrine isolated calligraphic events, quietly nudging contemporary art further into the exciting possibilities of techno-assisted inventions.

Maruyama's career in photography began in his native Japan. Born in Nagano, in 1968, Maruyama recorded images of this wondrous mountain region while still in high school. After graduating from college, he joined Hakuhodo Photo Creative, an advertising company, where he honed his skills. In 2001, Maruyama published two books, The Spiti Valley and Spiti, both dedicated to documenting life in Tibet. This direction shifted his creative interests from the material to the spiritual, fueled by his ability to harness new technological developments. Maruyama moved to New York in 2003.


Shinichi Maruyama (Japanese, b. 1968)
Kusho #2, 2006
Archival pigment print
Two editions of 10 prints;
20 x 36 in. and 40 x 60 in.
Courtesy of Bruce Silverstein Gallery, New York
© 2009 Shinichi Maruyama


The Kusho series announces Maruyama's crossover from sensitive photographer to visionary artist through this marriage of photography and a Shodo-esque improvisational experience. In his exhibition catalogue essay, Maurice Berger points out the artist's childhood study of Shodo. Maruyama explained: "As a young student, I often wrote Chinese characters in sumi ink. I loved the nervous, precarious feeling of sitting before an empty white page, the moment before my brush touched the paper. I was always excited to see the unique result of each new brushing."


Shinichi Maruyama (Japanese, b. 1968)
Kusho #11, 2006
Archival pigment print
Two editions of 10 prints;
27 x 36 in. and 44 x 68 in.
Courtesy of Bruce Silverstein Gallery, New York
© 2009 Shinichi Maruyama


This happy anticipation in front of a virgin space reminds me of a recent radio interview with one of Japan's greatest living poets, Shuntaro Tanikawa, wherein this artist described how he sits in front of his computer screen "emptying" himself in order to arrive at a word which will launch the trajectory of his poem. Maruyama's Kusho can be understood as visual poetry--perhaps haiku in action: brief, concise and precise in its evocative power.


Shinichi Maruyama (Japanese, b. 1968)
Kusho #19, 2008
Archival pigment print
Two editions of 10 prints;
27 x 35 in. and 43 x 55 in.
Courtesy of Bruce Silverstein Gallery, New York
© 2009 Shinichi Maruyama


In essence, Maruyama's "writing in the sky" beckons the viewer to pay attention to the life force made visible in the interpenetration of ink and water. This particular choice of opposites--opacity and translucence, black and white--represents a meditation on the difference between merging and submerging, of being and nothingness, of self-expression and self-abnegation.

Above all, Maruyama's photographs are about taking risks--risks with the ink and water, risks with photographic techniques, and risks with a new approach to art. How encouraging to see that taking risks can be a beautiful thing.


Shinichi Maruyama (Japanese, b. 1968)
Kusho #21, 2008
Archival pigment print
Two editions of 10 prints;
25 x 25 in. and 42 x 42 in.
Courtesy of Bruce Silverstein Gallery, New York
© 2009 Shinichi Maruyama


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Related Viewing:

Shinichi Maruyama website. (Recommended link: "Kusho Movie")

Studio 360 podcast containing an interview with poet Shuntaro Tanikawa.

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Shinichi Maruyama: Kusho is on view January 15 through March 7, 2009 at Bruce Silverstein Gallery's main location: 535 West 24th Street New York, NY 10011 (Telephone: 212-627-3930; Website). The gallery is open to the public Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

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From your Guide: Beth Gersh-Nesic is an art history professor, author, art critic and the director of the New York Arts Exchange, an arts education service which offers tours, lectures and workshops in various venues, including museums, galleries, artists' studios and arts organizations.