The Phillips Collection Showcases Work by Contemporary Artist Hiroshi Sugimoto

Hiroshi Sugimoto: Conceptual Forms and Mathematical Models is the first exhibition to contrast Sugimoto’s photographs with his mathematical sculptures

Washington, DC—On February 7, 2015, The Phillips Collection introduces Hiroshi Sugimoto: Conceptual Forms and Mathematical Models, showcasing works by one of Japan’s most important contemporary artists. Featuring six photographs and three sculptures, the exhibition is the first to contrast Sugimoto’smathematical photographs with his aluminum or stainless-steel mathematical models. A companion exhibition to Man Ray—Human Equations, the selected works are related to Man Ray’s 1930sphotographs of 19th-century mathematical models. Hiroshi Sugimoto is on view through May 10, 2015.

In 2004, Hiroshi Sugimoto (b. 1948) photographed 44 19th-century mathematical and mechanical models from two collections housed at the Graduate School of Mathematics and Sciences and the Museum of the University of Tokyo. Like the mathematical models photographed by Man Ray in the 1930s at the Institut Henri Poincaré in Paris, these models were made in Germany in the 1880s to provide students with a visual understanding of complex trigonometric functions. These photographs are titled Conceptual Forms and convey Sugimoto’s engagement in 19th-century craftsmanship, empirical philosophy, and conceptual art.

In 2005, Sugimoto began manufacturing his own mathematical models using precision computer-controlled electronic milling machines, accurate to a fraction of a millimeter. Several meters tall, these “endless” structures are reduced to the most minimal representations of highly complicated mathematical equations of infinity. Made from aluminum, they either project upward as twisted columns from iron bases or rise as cones from thin, mirrored discs into infinity.

“There is a deep connection between mathematics and photography that originated in the invention of photography itself, a tradition that has carried into the 21st century,” says exhibition curator Klaus Ottmann. “Hiroshi Sugimoto’s work exemplifies this tradition, and this exhibition reflects the artist’s desire to combine a ‘very craft-oriented’ practice with making ‘something artistic and conceptual’.”

EXHIBITION-RELATED EVENTS

Saturday, March 21, 2 p.m.: Film. Memories of Origin follows Hiroshi Sugimoto for 200 days as he travels around the world, creating artwork in locations including Australia, southern France, Odawara, Japan, and New York City. Part of the Environmental Film Festival in the Nation’s Capital.

Thursday, March 26, 6:30 p.m.: Gallery Talk. Exhibition curator Klaus Ottmann discusses how Sugimotopresents hidden beauty through his camera lens, focusing on the artist’s photographs of a collection of 19th-century mathematical models at the University of Tokyo.

Thursday, April 30, 6:30 p.m.: Duncan Phillips Lecture. Hiroshi Sugimoto discusses the exhibition and the art of photography and sculpture.

Thursday, May 7, 5:30 p.m.: Phillips after 5: Nerd Night. Learn about the intersection of art and math through a screening of Donald Duck in Mathmagic Land, be inspired by Man Ray through speed chess, and let Sugimoto’s interest in math guide you through a mathematical challenge.