PARLEY X KEIICHI TANAAMI SURFBOARDS
Internationally acclaimed Japanese artist Keiichi Tanaami supports Parley with a series of surfboards
空想にふける — Indulge in Fantasies (2022)
事件の気配 — Sign of the Incident (2022)
Parley is proud to present a new, vibrant edition of surfboards created in collaboration with leading contemporary Japanese artist Keiichi Tanaami. The series of 20 limited-edition Paulownia Firewire surfboards consists of four unique designs titled: Indulge in Fantasies; Another World; Contact with Light and Sign of the Incident.
The 86-year-old, Tokyo-based artist’s deployment of blazing color, dizzying layers of imagery and a canny mixture of American and Japanese cultural references capture both the movement and energy of a society in constant motion and the search of desperately needed peace.
The surfboards unite the worlds of art and surfing, as a messenger for the cause. Each is a surfable symbol and a call for eco-innovation, creativity and collaboration to protect our oceans. The surf community is equally vital to the Parley mission as the artists, as they know the oceans like no others. The project is a synthesis of a surfer’s love for the ocean and an artist’s imaginative call for change.
アナザーワールド — Another World (2022)
光との交信 — Contact with Light (2022)
The surfboards will first be on view in Tokyo, from November 10th, at gallery NANZUKA 2G, to complement Tanaami’s solo exhibition, “Mirror of the World,” held concurrently at NANZUKA UNDERGROUND and 3110NZ by LDH kitchen. This is a solo exhibition of new works following the artist’s 2020 show “Memorial Reconstruction,” held as the final exhibition at the gallery’s previous space in Shibuya, and “Manhattan Universe” presented in September this year at Venus Over Manhattan gallery in New York.
For the US launch, Parley and NANZUKA will present the four surfboards, before the start of Art Basel Miami Beach, at The Miami Beach EDITION hotel on November 28th. All proceeds of the sales will support the Parley Global Cleanup Network, an alliance to end marine plastic pollution by intercepting plastic waste from beaches, islands, and in remote coastal communities. Local education, awareness campaigns and government engagement help to drive lasting change.
Collaboration partner Firewire is at the forefront of innovation in the surf industry. Using their Timbertech Ecoboard-certified construction for this artwork is a symbol for change as this surfboard is made with sustainably sourced wood and bio-resin, which reduces its carbon footprint by over 30% versus surfboards built from traditional materials
Q&A WITH KEIICHI TANAAMI
Question 1: Can you explain in more detail about the meaning / title of each surfboard?
Title 1: 光との交信 / Contact with Light
Light is a source of inspiration to me. I often have dreams of whirling light rolling me in, which makes me feel wonderful.
私にとって光はインスピレーションの源泉です。くるくると回転する光の渦に巻き込まれる夢をよく見ますが、そんな夢景色と交換するのは最高の気分です。
Title 2: アナザーワールド / Another World
There are a number of romantic vermilion-colored bridges in Japan, which are supposed to connect this world with another world, as though the things come from another world.
日本には幾多のロマンを秘めた朱色の橋が多くあります。あの世とこの世を繋ぐ橋は私にとってアナザーワールドそのものです。
Title 3: 空想にふける / Indulge in Fantasies
There used to be a lot of steep arched bridges in Japan, not having a function of bridge, that is, uncrossable bridges. There also be a lot of legends associated with bridge referring heaven and hell, this world and another world, life and death…
Thus, I like indulging myself in such fantasies
かつて日本には、急勾配の太鼓橋が沢山ありました。橋としての機能がなく、渡れない橋です。橋にまつわる伝説も多く、天国と地獄、あの世とこの世、生と死、など不思議な言い伝えがいくつもあります。
私は橋のたもとに佇みあれこれ空想するのが大好きなのです。
Title 4: 事件の気配 / Sign of the Incident
Even an article on a few lines with small picture stimulates my imagination.
Feeling the signs of inconceivable incidents becomes inspirations for my creation.
新聞に載ったたった数行の記事と小さな写真は私の想像力を刺激します。
とんでもなく奇想天外な事件の気配を感じることで作品作りのインスピレーションに繋がります。
Question 2. You're the most significant Japanese artist today, your art spans over a half-century and across several mediums, how was working on the surfboard series for Parley for the Oceans?
あなたは、今日の日本に於いて最も重要なアーティストで、半世紀以上に渡り様々なメディアの作品を制作させてきましたが、今回のParleyのサーフボードのデザイン制作は如何でしたか？ご感想をお聞かせ頂ければ幸いです。
Thank you so much for giving me such a great opportunity. The surfboard in a beautiful shape with a slight swell was a dreamy medium. It is a wonder that my works on the surfboards look nicer.
最高のステージを用意していただきありがとうございました。美しい形状と微妙な膨らみを持つサーフボードは、私にとって夢のキャンバスでした。サーフボードに乗った私の絵はいつもより素敵に見えるから不思議です。
Tanaami graduated from Musashino Art University in 1960. His work has been the subject of numerous international solo exhibitions at both public institutions and galleries, including recent presentations at Nanzuka Gallery, Tokyo; Gary Tatintsian Gallery, Moscow; Kawasaki City Museum, Kanagawa; Karma International, Zürich; and the Ikeda Museum of 20th Century Art, Shizuoka, among others.
Tanaami’s work is frequently included in major group presentations, including exhibitions at Pioneer Works, New York, NY; Jeffrey Deitch, New York; Jeffrey Deitch, Los Angeles; the Ludwig Museum, Budapest; the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia; and the Tate Modern, London, among others. His work is held in the permanent collections of public institutions around the world, including the Museum of Modern Art, New York; Kawasaki City Museum, Kanagawa; Yokohama Museum of Art, Yokohama; the Art Institute of Chicago; the National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C.; National galerie im Hamburger Bahnhof - Museum fur Gegenwart, Berlin; the Tokushima Modern Art Museum, Tokushima; Ikeda Museum of 20th Century Art, Ito; and the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN, among many others. Tanaami lives and works in Tokyo, Japan.
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