Manabu Nakanishi

Manabu Nakanishi was born in Osaka-fu in 1959 and graduated from the Osaka University of Arts in 1982, majoring in painting. He held his first solo exhibition at Ban Gallery (Osaka) in 1983. He presented oil paintings of vivid primary colors leading to “new painting”. In “Art Now” in 1985 and 1986 (special display), he presented giant 3D works which fused with American rock and roll based on the Japanese elements of “higonokami” (a type of Japanese folding pocketknife) and “ranma” (an openwork screen above the sliding partitions between two doors). These, along with the ‘rocker’-like persona of the artist himself, garnered attention, with him also exhibiting in 1990 (Kansai Contemporary Art of the 1980s). He submitted works to the “Shiga Annual ’87: Expressions of Human Figures” (The Museum of Modern Art, Shiga) in 1987, the “Mito Annual ’92: Private Diary of 10 Young Japanese Artists” (Art Tower Mito Contemporary Art Gallery) in 1992. From the 1990s onward, he turned his attention to space, releasing a series of 3D works known as “Nebula”, along with a series entitled “Void” beginning in 2000. He has also held numerous solo exhibitions, including one at Ibaraki City Yasunari Kawabata Museum of Literature (2021).