Kohei Nawa

Cell
14 November 2024 –
March 2025

Exhibition opening:
November 14th, 2024, 18:00 – 21:00

Exhibition dates:
November 14th 2024 – March 2025 

Dear friends of the gallery, 

We are excited to announce our long-awaited exhibition Cell by KOHEI NAWA. 

In his upcoming exhibition, Cell, KOHEI NAWA explores the recurring theme of his artistic practice: the Cell. Specifically designed for the Nick and Vera Munro Foundation, the now internationally renowned artist will showcase both well-known and new works across the two floors of the gallery. In 2009, NAWA already celebrated his successful German debut exhibition here in our gallery under the same title.

For NAWA, the cell is a continuous symbol of an inherently interconnected world. Just like a single cell, none of his works is complete on its own; instead, they reveal new connections in interplay with others. In this new iteration of Cell, NAWA skillfully combines earlier and newer works to create a space that invites viewers to dive deeply into the material and relationships of his various pieces.

The recurring composition of different interpretations of cells in the exhibited works, the ambivalent relationship between organic and geometric forms, and the changing techniques and materials orchestrate a comprehensive experience of ongoing transformation—a never-ending play of energy and dynamics in the artworks.

KOHEI NAWA (born 1975 in Osaka) lives and works in Kyoto, Japan, where he currently holds a professorship at Kyoto University of Art and Design. Together with young artists, he works in his studio, SANDWICH, on sculpture, architecture, music, and performances. Most recently, in his fourth collaboration with Belgian-French choreographer Damien Jalet, NAWA presented his latest performance piece “Mirage [transitory],” which is set to tour Europe in 2025. 

Some of NAWA’s most notable solo exhibitions in recent years include Cosmic Sensibility at Pace Gallery, Seoul, 2024; Aether at Pace Gallery, New York, 2022; Throne in the Pyramid at the Musée du Louvre, Paris, 2019; Movement at Arario Gallery, Shanghai, 2015; as well as numerous group exhibitions, such as FUKAMI, a dive into Japanese aesthetics at Hôtel Salomon de Rothschild, Paris, 2018. He is also represented in important public collections, including Daimler Chrysler Contemporary, Berlin; Frank-Suss Collection, London; Long Museum, Shanghai; Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo; Arario Sculpture Garden, Cheonan; Hara Museum, Tokyo; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; and the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne.

We are very glad to present to the public KOHEI NAWA’s third exhibition in Hamburg: Cell. If you need more information and images, please feel free to contact us at any time.

Best regards,  
Nick and Vera Munro Foundation