Nantes Plan 2

Tadashi Kawamata's work in the form of preliminary drawings and reliefs, like Nantes Plan 2, has been a means to present his ideas and accomplishments within a traditional exhibition format. However, it is his large scale sculptural work and architectural projects, which address the contemporary urban environment and its use, for which he has gained critical attention.  He encourages collaboration on constructed projects based on the reality of the immediate surroundings. These concerns are in keeping with the work of Gordon Matta-Clark, Robert Smithson and, even, Richard SerraConceived of and constructed worldwide since 1986, the artist acknowledges the relationship between creation /material/ space, by installing the work into the existing environment and building a structural connection. Kawamata's works are simulations of urban situations - roads, bridges, passages, or "private" spaces - they are unreal, unrealistic and non-functional objects. The artist references the urban chaos of modern cities which is invisible at first glance because it is hidden behind rational, planned structures.  Kawamata also emphasizes recycled materials and expects his structures to be temporary, documenting all work in photographic form. Speaking of his projects Kawamata stated "I try to be submissive to the materials that a site possesses. I use…materials relating to the building…in this way, my work becomes assimilated with that from which the materials originate.  This is a very important part of the concept underlying my work: the relationship is parasitic… My work can be called a cancerous or parasitic organization within an organization."