Jiro Nagase has spent years exploring the possibilities of aluminum through his works—from chairs, bowls, instruments, lights—and a collection of these are brought together in an exhibition at Nonaka Hill in Los Angeles. Special live musical performances are planned, featuring some of the instruments that Nagase has created.

Despite their metallic sheen, Nagase’s pieces are light and flexible. He utilizes a wide variety of processing methods in his attempts to draw out the possibilities of aluminum, including metalwork, through hammering a single sheet into a 3D structure, more industrial-style machine-led crafting, and production through the use of 3D graphics software. Aside from the technical craftsmanship, the reason that these pieces match so well to human spaces might be due to the touch of humor which comes across when interacting with them—from switching on the light switch, taking a seat in a chair, or simply by making contact with these fascinating pieces.

Jiro Nagase: Born in Tokyo Japan in 1990, Nagase lives and works in Tokyo. After graduating from both his undergraduate and master’s programs at Tama University, Nagase worked as production assistant for Maywa Denki. Taking primary interest to the material aluminum, Nagase’s work explores the use, life, and becoming of an object – by both maintaining a neutrality in the production of the object and simultaneously allowing the wear that appears on the object during production.

Jiro Nagase Exhibition
Dates: November 23, 2024 – February 1, 2025

Nonaka Hill
720 N. Highland Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90038
Tel. 323 450 9409    Hours: Tuesday -Saturday, 12:00 – 18:00 or by appointment