Spatial Concept 1968

Kazuo Nakamura made this Spatial Concept painting using a pretty basic monochrome palette. The black background is super flat, almost like a void, and it makes those white lines pop. Looking at it, you can see the artist building up shapes, like the oval, and the diamond, through multiple lines, which I find kind of beautiful, this idea that the art is built up stroke by stroke. What really grabs me is how the white lines sit on top of the black, sharp and distinct. It’s as if Nakamura is mapping out some kind of geometric universe, and you can really see his hand in the details. I guess it’s this combination of math and intuition that reminds me of Sol LeWitt’s wall drawings, but there is a more personal feeling to the hand in Nakamura's piece. It’s the way the lines waver a little, suggesting that perfection isn't the point; it's about the journey of making.