Japanese artist Onishi Yasuaki is fascinated with the molds, shells, and “reverse casts” of objects that help shape our perception of the physical world. As an installation artist, Onishi designs large-scale works that respond to a building’s architecture and the landscape outside its walls. His “reverse casts” direct attention to the thin boundary between inside/outside, visible/invisible, and human/nature.
Stone on Boundary features 5,000 copper foils that are molded from river rocks in Osaka, Japan and Salt Lake City, Utah. The installation reflects Utah’s vast and varied landscape – from river stones in deep canyons to the towering peaks of the Wasatch and Oquirrh Mountains and the dynamic red rock formations in southern parts of the state. This work was designed in Onishi’s studio in Osaka, where Japan refined copper exports that supplied the world for over 200 years. Bringing these foils to Salt Lake City, home to the largest open-pit copper mine operating today, connects the two places through a shared material resource that has a profound effect on the world.
Since 2013, the UMFA has commissioned contemporary artists to design a site-specific artwork that changes our experience of the G. W. Anderson Family Great Hall. Onishi’s installation was commissioned specifically for this space and will be on view for 2-3 years.