NRC 19 Apr.2001
Subtitle: Recent Japanese Art in Kröller-Müller Museum
Title: A lot of concentration on Nothingness

Exhbition IKIRO / Be alive Contemporary Japanese Art 1980 till now

..........The most impressive contribution to the exhibition is from Takahiro Suzuki(1967). Suzuki has been writing the word IKIRO, which means Be Alive or Live everyday for almost 5 years. This endlessly repeated movement with ink on sheets of rice paper serves for concentrating himself on nothingness. Since he started this action, he says, he has been aware/realising, he is alive. In the Kröller-Müller Museum Suzuki is writing the word IKIRO on rice paper, and he puts the paper on blocks of clay on the ground. Outside Suzuki built a desk where he stays everyday for next 3 months during the exhibition. He also made a potato field as a part of the installation. He hopes he can eat the potatoes in 3 months. If people want, they can go outside to his desk and talk to the artist, Takahiro Suzuki, or can get the IKIRO paper by donation. Half of the donation go to refugees in the world, the other half is for the next project. Just like Mono-Ha, the concept of his art is more important than the shape. It is a simple action, carried out in a concentrated and precise way, leading of itself to a moving and beautiful total expression, where it does not matter any more if it is art or not.