The ’90s

The 1990s in eleven “Date Paintings”

As one of the most important Conceptual artists, On Kawara is featured in most of the surveys on post-war art. In comparison to many monographs recently published on the artist, this book, conceived in close collaboration with On Kawara himself, takes a very intimate form. This seems an appropriate manner in which to discover eleven paintings created over a decade, letting the viewer complete their reading with personal associations, historical events, or academic interpretations.

“Perhaps,” writes Thierry Davila in his accompanying essay, “art is simply a particular way of taking time … So the work, the on-going creation is essentially a question of using time … ”

Seen from this perspective On Kawara has invented a simple and striking way to make art, by taking time, taking his time. He found a way to use the calendar to make a kind of “non-individual” art work. In his Date Paintings, time itself has become a piece of art. The work is pure realism, the existence of time put in painting, thus rendering it viewable and readable.

Published by Art & Public Gallery, Geneva.