Dates: Nov 21 – Dec 20, 2003

The etymology of “atmosphere” is the ancient Greek words for vapor (atmos) and sphere (sphaira). Once I learned this, the air that filled Camargue and the steam from the steel factory seemed to fuse into one before my eyes. It no longer felt strange to see signs of humanity in the sky and the land, nor to sense Nature in the cloud of steam from the factory. And I began to feel that it would no longer be possible to draw a clear line at the border between nature and the artificial.
-Naoya Hatakeyama*

Taka Ishii Gallery is pleased to announce our upcoming exhibition Atmos featuring new works by artist Naoya Hatakeyama. Atmos was initially commissioned for exhibition at the annual photo-festival Recontres d’Arles, Arles, France. Photographed in Camargue, France, the series is comprised of images of the local natural landscape as well as steelworks from the surrounding area. Atmos proposes a more complex relationship between nature and artifice than straightforward contrast. Lavender steam, ethereal vapor and billowing clouds rise from within the interior of the factories suggesting an alchemical process in which natural material is transformed – becoming more suitable for human use. The quiet landscape of Camargue, maintains its natural appearance through conservation, the majority of the land set aside as a natural preserve.

Atmos is the artist’s second solo exhibition with Taka Ishii Gallery. Hatakeyama will take part in the upcoming Mori Art Museum exhibition Roppongi Crossing, in February, 2004.

*Quote from the forthcoming publication Atmos, Nazraeli Press.
A preview copy of Atmos will be on view at the gallery throughout the exhibition.

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