We are pleased to present a solo exhibition of contemporary artist Hitoshi Nomura (1945-2023), showcasing his large-scale work Soft-Landing Meteor ’97 (1991-1997), where a meteorite is symbolically welcomed to Earth as it rests on the tail of an YS-11 aircraft. This work, along with the selection of Nomura’s most representative pieces in this exhibition, reflect his enduring engagement with the concept of Cosmic Sensibility, a recurrent theme in his sculptural practice.

Starting in late 1960s, Nomura began using photography as his primary sculptural medium, capturing the modalities of matter as it interacts with gravity and time. By the mid-1970s, he turned his lens towards the movement of celestial bodies, delving deeper into how the intricate relationships between phenomena and the life around us derive from the sublime, dynamic order of the natural world. Over the years, Nomura has broadened his range of materials and media to chronicle the passage of Time on a scale spanning the origins of the universe to the emergence of life and the evolution of terrestrial creatures. His works strive to expose the Source behind the creation of matter and phenomena, exploring a singular spatial expression.

In the 1980s, when Nomura first acquired a meteorite, he was struck by its form, which reminded him of ‘Bodhidharma sitting in front of a wall in deep meditation and of a Buddha spreading his cloth and walking into the wind.’ This revelation led him to perceive the existence of a powerful cosmic plasticity – an energy manifesting in the boundless dimensions of time and space. From this insight and awareness, Nomura cultivated a new creative expansiveness that he termed Cosmic Sensibility and began to present works that incorporate meteoric iron since the 1990s. These celestial fragments are likened to portraits or Objects as the artist presents them on marble plinths as unique sculptures or intertwines them with DNA’s helical structures.

For approximately 20 years, ARTCOURT Gallery has been a venue for the presentation of Hitoshi Nomura's visionary work, and we have had the privilege to have numerous opportunities to experience the energy of his creations up close. Nomura captured ‘something essential, linking both matter and life,’ creating numerous works that invite us to perceive the universe with an immediacy akin to observing the stars and the moon that light the night sky. As we mark one year since his passing, we hope this exhibition will provide an occasion to revisit Nomura’s work and reflect on his legacy.