Hino gallery is pleased to present a solo exhibition entitled “Quarry” by Tomiyuki Maruyama from Saturday, September 8th, 2018.

Maruyama completed his Bachelor of Arts degree at the sculpture department at Tokyo University of the Arts in 1984 and proceeded to do his postgraduate degree there, which he completed in ’86. He is a sculptor who has been working with stone for more than 30 years. During the late 90’s he began showing his work at Hino Gallery and his chosen medium then was sandstone, especially Isahaya Ishi, which is a type of hard sandstone, quarried in Isahaya City, Nagasaki. Maruyama created minimal and primitive sculptures from this stone and his most recent works exhibited in “Quarry” are also made of sandstone and include Isahaya Ishi.

The arresting forms: a L-shaped sculpture that appears to almost embrace a great void, or an object with a uniquely curious, pointy protrusion are simple yet exquisite and have a warmth or naivety that somehow emanates from the material itself. The artist stated that the forms appear, “like quarrying stone from the mountains” or “by approaching the sky from the horizon and a stone’s point of view”. However, Maruyama said this time he has tried to shift the approach or perspective to one that is slightly underground. As the exhibition title “Quarry” might also suggest, this decision came from the fact that most stone quarries, which used to be higher in the mountains, are nowadays dug down deep. Maruyama tried to transfer his point of view whilst making these sculptures to echo the current reality of the quarries. Although the direction has shifted, Maruyama’s approach toward stone has remained consistent. The awareness of the sky from the horizon or from underground, which he has attempted in his recent works, are both senses that are never perceived unless it is realized that these spaces exist. For Maruyama, “producing” space could be the most important and quintessential element in his work. The arresting stone forms become mediums for perception of space yielded through carving.

Hino Gallery is presenting a solo exhibition by Maruyama for the first time in 2 years. We hope you will enjoy his most recent works in terms of their shape and the space that they command.