The Synthesis of Mathematics and Photography
This is the first major retrospective of Onishi Shigeru (1928-1994), a mathematician who revolutionized Japan’s postwar art scene. As a researcher at Hokkaido University, he began applying his knowledge of topology — the study of shapes and spaces that remain unchanged under continuous deformations — to photography and ink painting, creating works that transcended traditional artistic boundaries. In an era dominated by realism, his photographs were intensely intricate, using multiple exposures, solarization and boiling developers to intuit the esoteric concept of “superinfinity.”
The exhibition also highlights his transition into abstract ink painting during the 1950s, a period when the Informel movement — “unformed” art that favored spontaneous and intuitive abstraction over geometrical abstraction — was sweeping through Japan. Onishi’s ink compositions were discovered by Michel Tapié, the French critic who coined the term, who was struck by their undulating lines and immense power. Following major acquisitions by MoMA and acclaim around the world, the retrospective brings together over 1,000 of Onishi’s photographs and paintings, as well as mathematical manuscripts.
