Correction fluid， crystal powder and washi mounted on FRP

60 × 60 x 35 cm. 23 5/8 x 23 5/8 x 13 3/4 in.

PROVENANCE
Private Collection, Asia

This work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity with signature from the artist issued by Mind Set Art Center, Taipei

To See the World in a Wildflower
Shinji Ohmaki's art
Born in Tokyo in 1971, Shinji Ohmaki is a famous figure in the contemporary art world. He graduated from the Department of Sculpture at Tokyo University of the Arts. In his artistic practice, he explores planes and three-dimensionality, reflects upon his own thoughts on the issues of time and space, eternity, demise, and the subtle relationship between human and nature in the process of modernization. During Art Basel Hong Kong 2018, his work Liminal Air Space-Time was believed by many to be one of the pieces most worthy of appreciation. He used a precision programmable fan to blow on a translucent white cloth, letting it float in the air to form a variety of shapes, seemingly pulling the viewer into silent meditation. Liminal Air Space-Time is the work that made Shinji Ohmaki famous again. The 47-year-old Shinji has been involved in artistic creation for more than 20 years. His works have been collected by public institutions and art galleries, including Swiss Bank, the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Korea, and the Matsumoto City Museum of Art, and he held solo exhibitions at the Hakone Open Air Museum and the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art. He has also been invited to produce large-scale installations for Hermès. During this autumn auction, we are honored to present two of his masterpieces from his Echoes-Crystallization series.
Quiet Mind
While not as straightforward as a flower, they are the emotions deep inside me naturally poured out.
—Shinji Ohmaki
Echoes-Crystallization, completed in 2013, is a semi-3D work of the series. Shinji Ohmaki deliberately used glass fiber to make discs to which he attached thin Japanese paper with flowers painted on it. The blooming flowers expand radially from the center, creating a feeling of infinite extension. The artist chose a special medium here — a correction fluid used to correct typos instead of traditional paint. This maneuver transformed correction into creation, completely subverting its function and meaning and giving the work a new life. Shinji was born to a family rooted in the traditional textile industry, and therefore, for him, flowered cloth represents a childhood memory. When he was growing up, the traditional textile industry had declined due to advancements in modernization. However, for Shinji, traditional craftsmanship and its pursuit of perfection are of great importance. He devoted much time and energy to this work, as if paying a tribute to classical artistry and the minimalist aesthetics of Japanese Zen.
Changing City Landscape
Since 2013, Shinji began using map elements in his works to show his vision of a city landscape.
Echoes-crystallization/Metabolism is an example of such work. Here, he deliberately utilized a piece of floral fabric from Macau alongside his characteristic medium, correction fluid, to create a dense, interconnected, totem-like pattern on the cloth. The staggered streets and rivers indicate that this is a city map. According to the artist, it depicts a city that is close to the sea — Hong Kong. However, there are no indications of distance, contours, bungalows, or high-rise buildings, and everything is replaced by blooming leaves. The artist filled a city map with organic, living entities, emphasizing that as long as there is life and death, people are just passing guests of this world.
He intentionally chose white correction fluid mixed with white pigment, aiming to create a most complicated, gigantic texture with minimal, pure color, achieving a dramatic tension between simplicity and complexity. Shinji covered the original graphic floral pattern of the cloth with correction fluid and presented us with an unforgettable vision of a whole new world.

Price estimate:
HKD: 55,000 - 85,000
USD: 7,000 - 10,800

Auction Result:
HKD : 100,300