Yuji Agematsu, Untitled
by :
Melanie Markowitz
Yuji Agematsu (American and Japanese, born 1956). Untitled, 1993. Leather shoes on cobblestone. Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York.
The streets of New York yield plenty for Yuji Agematsu, whose daily amblings and collecting of urban detritus form the basis for his work. The artist selects and manipulates from his haul, rather than simply displaying as a found object. Found art is transformed into sculpture.
Untitled (1993), an assemblage featuring a pair of men’s lace-up oxford shoes affixed to cobblestone is on view as part of We The People at the Albright Knox Art Gallery. The well-worn pair of black leather shoes feature heavily frayed laces tied in bows with rust-colored streaks marking portions of the leather. The heel of one shoe bends inward, seemingly from significant use by its wearer. The cobblestone that the shoes rest on serves as a reminder of the shoe wearer’s travels – they are the artist’s own shoes, worn down on walkabouts around New York. To me, the work evoked a strong emotional response due to an association made with an ill father who once favored polished black leather oxfords before sickness made wearing such shoes an impossibility.
The assemblage differs markedly from much of Agematsu’s other work, so often contained in the discarded cellophane wrappers from cigarette packs. The difference in size presented by the leather shoes of Untitled escapes the sense of impermanence found in his smaller-scale works. While the smaller assemblages blend tiny bits of refuse—bits of string, bumble gum, foil from a bottle cap—Untitled presents an object in full, offering a more emotional connection to the sculpture and the artist. The pieces melancholic tone reminds one to imagine the past lives of these shoes; perhaps in a polished state, on the feet of an eager city dweller and artist.
Melanie Markowitz is a consultant, writer, and researcher.
Image: Yuji Agematsu, Untitled, 1993. Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York.
We The People: New Art from the Collection
October 23, 2018 – July 21, 2019
Albright Knox Art Gallery
1285 Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo NY 14222
albrightknox.org
