Katsuhiro Saiki

"Place #3" (2002) via hpgrp Gallery

An enthused crowd filled hpgrp Gallery in Chelsea last Thursday at the opening of Resolution, Katsuhiro Saiki's show of both older and never before seen works. Digital and analog photographs taken in New York, Tokyo, and Berlin are the raw materials for his brand of photo/sculpture hybrids. The centerpiece of the exhibition "Place #3" (2002) is a photograph Saiki took in Berlin of the underbelly of a distant plane flying through a cotton candy clouded sky. The photo is dramatically presented in the middle of the gallery floor, mounted on a large tile. To see an upward view when looking down is truly dizzying.

For Saiki's "Frames" series he photographs glass and steel skyscraper facades, then cuts and arranges them onto white background to create abstract 3D polygonal structures. He effectively captures a 3D object into a 2D photograph form, then crafts it into the illusion of 3D again. This series among many of his other works seems to be informed by Sol Lewitt's 2D cube drawings.

Resolution is now on at hpgrp Gallery in Chelsea through January 28th.