Award-winning artist Kohei Nawa is currently one of the most prominent names in the world of contemporary art. His iconic PixCell series – sculptural installations in which objects such as deer are overlaid with transparent glass beads – stormed the world at the beginning of the century, with Nawa becoming a well-known name among prestigious exhibitours, in either solo or group shows. His work entitled Foam was presented at the Aichi Triennale 2016 in Japan, featured in the Fukami exhibition held at Hôtel Salomon de Rothschild, Paris in 2018, while his monumental Throne was housed at the Musée du Louvre, Paris, until last February, to list only a few prominent projects.

After graduating from Kyoto City University of Art, he attended a sculpture course at the Royal College of Art in London where he was exposed to stimulating contemporary influences such as Antony Gormley. Ever since, Nawa has been a forerunner of his generation of creators, not only due to his mind-bending sculptures but also through his constant experimentation as an artist pushing the boundaries of his own comfort zone. This may be witnessed in his collaborations with like-minded and cutting edge artists in the spheres of design, architecture, fashion and performing arts.

Celebrating his involvement in the expressive dance piece Vessel at Sadler’s Wells on 16 and 17 April, the Japan Foundation is proud to host a very special artist talk where Kohei Nawa will introduce his most representative concepts to date, what inspires him and some pioneering works which have influenced a new generation of Japanese creative minds. Divulging his aims in rejecting popular stereotypes linked to Japanese contemporary arts such as manga and anime, he will also explain his method of transforming lifeless industrial materials into dynamic, aesthetically pleasing works of art, sometimes offering delightful sensory experiences.

This event celebrates Kohei Nawa's Vessel show at Sadler's Wells on 16 and 17 April, supported by the Japan Foundation's Performing Arts Japan for Europe Grant Programme. For more information and tickets to Vessel please click here