Kate Newby "Very Active Weather" （KayokoYuki）

Kate Newby "Very Active Weather"

Finished

Artists

Kate Newby

At Kayokoyuki we are pleased to announce Kate Newby’s first solo exhibition in Japan "Very Active Weather".
She is also taking part in the group show "Ecology: Dialogue on Circulations/Dialogue 2, Ephemeral Anchoring" which is concurrently taking place at Ginza Maison Hermès Le Forum as well as "Our Ecology: Toward a Planetary Living" at the Mori Art Museum. We invite you to take this opportunity to witness her work.

Through her careful architectural interventions, Kate Newby (b.1979 in Aotearoa, New Zealand, currently residing and working in Texas) consistently forges a new interaction among the urban gallery site, her works and the audience. On this occasion, we are welcomed at the entrance by a commissioned terrazzo step by Newby, inviting us to walk on it. Ceramic sculptures, formed through the act of throwing, are molded into a brick-coloured terrazzo produced in Toyama. Newby’s practice frequently incorporates collaborations with local industrial producers, which allows her to integrate herself into an existing factory process, harmonizing it with her distinct artistic approach. Rather than relying on conventional tools, her own process often involves the weight or motions of her own body to sculpt the forms of her ceramic pieces, paralleling the comfort and warmth against the industrially produced sharp and clean edges.
By merging broken glass found in the streets and pathways of Tokyo with clay which she fires in Texas, Kate’s works often unveil the transformative nature of everyday objects over time. The impact of external factors such as climate and human activities that soften the edges and fade the colors remind us of the metamorphosis of the original source materials, as reflected in the title Very Active Weather.

Each work appears to be carefully and intentionally spaced, forming a symbiotic relationship between the gallery and Newby’s pieces. The various organic textures evoke the growth of organisms or fungi within an urban landscape. Subtly weaving together ropes, glass, ceramics with the existing structure in Komagome, Newby not only enhances perceptual awareness of local architecture but also draws attention to the potential within empty spaces in the constellation. In this immersive approach, the artworks, floating, hanging, and concealing, prompt contemplation of sensitivity towards materiality and space.