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Art Statement

— From Material to Humanity, From Memory to the Present —

 

Born into a family of ceramicists—my father and grandfather were both potters—craft was always a part of my life. My creative practice began with a fascination for materials and techniques, and gradually evolved into a deeper inquiry into human existence and the complexities of society.

 

In the early 1990s, I moved to the UK and found myself immersed in a multicultural environment shaped by diverse races, religions, and historical backgrounds. It was there that I first encountered “humanity” and “social nature” not as abstract ideas, but as vivid, lived experiences. Encounters with discrimination, as well as unexpected acts of kindness from strangers, etched into me a profound awareness of the complexity and duality of human relationships. These experiences quietly but unmistakably transformed my practice. Themes such as social injustice and ethics, the continuity of memory and history, and the tensions between the individual and the state began to form the core of my artistic concerns.

 

Historical testimonies shared by many people I met while living and working across Europe in the late 1990s had a particularly deep impact on my perspective. A Romanian acquaintance once told me about the 1989 revolution and the dramatic escapes that unfolded during the Pan-European Picnic, which eventually led to the fall of the Berlin Wall. Her colleague's old woman who spent her life searching for her missing younger brother, conveyed a deeply embodied and personal history. These were not merely historical facts—they were lived histories, told through memory and the body. Gradually, my work shifted toward a space where individual voices intersect with social and political contexts.

Out of this trajectory emerged the project White Process 1 to 0, which I began in 2013. This work focuses on the process of disappearance—of politics, of life, and of objects—through the ritualistic act of painting ruins white. In 2015, I launched My Archaeology, a long-term ritual-based art project exploring the relationship between memory, time, and the human condition. By creating episodic memories and burying them as physical objects in nature, the project becomes a meditation on forgetting and remembering, loss and preservation—an attempt to coexist with time.

 

My projects incorporate various media including sound, video, ceramics, and photography, resulting in a wide range of outcomes. From installations made of porcelain dumplings to videos featuring pink cats, my works may seem fragmented or lacking in coherence at first glance. Yet, my practice is consistently rooted in a deep concern for social issues and an enduring interest in the human condition. These core elements form the thread that weaves through all of my works, quietly shaping a distinctive artistic voice. My current practice explores the tension that lies between memory and history, ethics and systems, and the individual and the collective. While material and technique remain important elements in my work, they now function more as instruments of expression rather than ends in themselves. For me, art is a space that makes visible the invisible conflicts and the unheard voices—a space that continually raises questions for the viewer.

Looking back, I may have been destined to inherit my father’s path and become a potter in the town where I was born. But by moving to Europe, I came to know the world—and came to know art. Art may not be able to directly save lives like medicine, nor provide spiritual comfort like religion. But perhaps it can make people think, realize, and act.

When my Romanian acquaintance spoke of the old woman, she smiled—but there were tears in her eyes. Later, I came to realize that I too had become one of those who thought, recognized, and acted.

 

 

 

 

CV

Kazushi Nakada

Based in Helsinki Finland and Shanghai China

Member of the Association of Finnish Sculptors

Honorable degree, Ukrainian Ministry of Education,  Academy of Art Lviv, Ukraine

Solo Exhibition

2024

-Shanghai Chongmin island art project “White process 1 to 0” Chongmin island Shanghai

-Art project, KN-Artoy, Flower monster. Tsutaya books store太古里 Shanghai China

2022   

“Art project, KN-Artoy, Flower monster” 尚合院gallery, Ningbo China 

“Art project, KN-Artoy, Flower monster” 白川gallery, Nanjing China

 

2021

Art project "My archaeology", Art Front Gallery, Tokyo Japan

 

2019

Art project “Pink Copycat” video & photography installation.  Gallery M space, Shanghai China

 

2018

Art project " My Archaeology", Shanghai glass museum, Shanghai China

2006

Kazushi Nakada artwork, Mentzendorff House/gallery, Riga Latvia

 

2004

“Infinity”, The Finnish glass museum, Riihimäki Finland

 

2003

“Wall X”, Outside public installation, Esplanadi, Helsinki light festival, Helsinki Finland

Selected exhibitions

 

2010-2021

 

2021

Group exhibition “665448”, Haapsalu Linna Gallery, Haapsalu Estonia

Group exhibition “Love is more”, Being Art Museum, Shanghai China

 

2020

The online video project, 60day of lockdown, Luxelakes A4 Art Museum, Chengdu China

 

2019           

Group exhibition, Objekti 5, Espoo Finland

International symposium Lviv Academy of Art, Lviv Ukraine

The art project, "Please copy me", Shanghai China            

2017             

Ningbo international art and Glass European/ Asian Conference, Ningbo, China

Vediet' vidiet´, mal'ovat' (sklo ako plátno), gallery Medium, Bratislava Slovakia

To know, To see, To paint (Glass as a Canvas)

2016

International glass symposium Lviv Academy of Art, Lviv Ukraine

2013

Exhibition “Abandoned house” gallery Makslas Banka, Riga Latvia

Exhibition “glass art” gallery Levant Art, Shanghai China

2012

Exhibition “11th International Glass Symposium IGS”,

Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague, Prague Czech Republic

2011

International Glass Symposium Nobý Bor Czech Republic

European glass exhibition Wroclaw railway station gallery, Wroclaw Poland

 

2010

Exhibition “Finnish glass lives” Riihimäki Finland

Exhibition “Glass voice” Latvian Academy of Arts, Riga Latvia

Exhibition “25 years anniversary” Ebeltoft glass museum, Ebeltoft Denmark

2009

Exhibition “Finnish glass art” MUDAM, Luxembourg

2008

Exhibition “Finnish glass art & design”

Industrial Museum, Düsseldorf Germany

Glasmuseum Hentrich, museum kunst palast Dortmund Germany

 

2007

Exhibition “Kolme= San”, Jarvenpää Talo, Jarvenpää Finland

Exhibition “Finnish glass”, Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art Istanbul, Turkey

2006

L’art du verre Finlandais, Nancy France

Coburg prize, selected artist, Coburg Germany

International glass symposium “RONA” & Exhibition

“Unknown forms” Lednické Rovne, Slovakia

Exhibition Glass Voice, Latvian applied art museum, Riga Latvia       

2005

Global art glass triennial, Borgholm Sweden

2004

International competition of glass Kanazawa, selected artist, Kanazawa Japan

Exhibition “Works in Bardibukk 2004”, Kaposbar Hungary

Solo exhibition “Infinity”, The Finnish glass museum, Riihimäki Finland

Exhibition “Vetri nel mondo oggi”, Palazzo Franchetti, Venice Italy

2003

Group exhibition “LANDSCAPE, GLASS FROM FINLAND AND

SPAIN”, Espaividre Gallery, Barcelona Spain

Permanent Collection

Being Art Museum, Shanghai China

The Finnish glass museum, Riihimäki Finland                                

Glasmuseet Ebeltoft Denmark.

Susan and Martin Gould, Philadelphia, the US

Kaj Franck Square, Arabianranta, public installation, Helsinki Finland

National Museum of Art Lviv, Lviv Ukraine 

Decorative Art Museum of Prague, Prague Czech Republic

Shanghai glass museum, Shanghai China

Green wave glass museum, Ningbo China

Private collections in Asia, Europe, and the USA

Education

 

1987~1990   

Tokyo Glass Art Institute, postgraduate program, Kawasaki Japan

 

1992~1994     

Royal College of Art, Ceramics and Glass Dept. MA, London England

Working experience

 

1997~2016

Full-time teacher, Senior Lecturer

University of Art and Design Helsinki / Aalto University, School of Art and Design, Faculties.

 

2010~2011

Professor 

Moholy Nagy University of Art and Design, Budapest Hungary

 

2013 September

Invited artist & lecturer

Rochester Institute of Technology,

College of Image Science and Technology, NY USA 

 

2017 October

Invited Professor

Wroclaw Academy of Arts, Glass dept, Wroclaw Poland

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