Katsura Takasuka

Venue
Kyu Bunkafukusogakuin
《NEGENTROPY》 Katsura Takasuka Photo: Syuhei Yoshida
《NEGENTROPY》 Katsura Takasuka Photo: Syuhei Yoshida
Curator’s Text
Title :《NEGENTROPY》

Katsura TAKASUKA is an artist and textile specialist who has long worked locally in the Fujiyoshida area, but his approach encompasses something far greater than expertise alone. He questions the very definition of textiles as a concept and explores the potential for more sustainable ecosystems. Last year, Takasuka created his works Canvas from Soil and Canvas to Soil using crushed sedimentary rock from the Cretaceous period as pigment, painting them onto canvases woven from fibers extracted from weeds as part of his efforts to create biodegradable works that can safely return to the earth. For his current work, the artist turned discarded clothes back into thread, which he then wove into a 3m2 canvas and coated using soil and water as his medium, a visual representation of the process of their eventual return to the earth. In a sense, he depicts the story of textiles from birth to death, elevating this narrative into work of arts. Textiles serve as the material and conduit to relay the history of human activity, or more specifically, the awesome cycle of death and rebirth. The title of this work, Negentropy, refers to the fact that life maintains a state of low entropy in seeming defiance of the second law of thermodynamics. As an artist whose practice has been one of continuous production, Takasuka also illustrates the value of “non-making” through this work. Today, as the environment becomes an increasingly pressing concern, Takasuka is tackling some of the biggest issues by envisioning a new ecosystem for textiles.

Cooperation:Fujisan Shunen Gama
Artist Profile
Katsura Takasuka

Katsura Takasuka

Born in Tokyo in 1986. Takasuka studied textile design at Tokyo Zokei University, specializing in prehistoric textiles from the Stone Age onward, and completed his MA in 2011. Working with the philosophy of “what is born from the ground will return to the ground,” he has created numerous sculptures and installations made from biological materials such as seeds and silkworm derived fibers, treating materials as “life” and exploring the nature of human beings as organisms. In addition to presenting his artistic work both in Japan and overseas, Takasuka is engaged in textile design in areas noted for their weaving heritage, has launched his own manufacturing brand, and works as an art director. In 2016, he was appointed general director of the Hataorimachi no Hatajirushi project, which seeks to promote the 1,000-year-old weaving traditions of Fujiyoshida and Nishikatsura in Yamanashi Prefecture. He is also
an assistant professor of textile design at Tokyo Zokei University.