Book of the Week: A Pick by Kohei Oyama

Book of the Week Book of the Week: A Pick by Kohei Oyama Kohei Oyama selects A Plastic Tool by Maya Rochat as Book of the Week.

A Plastic Tool. By Maya Rochat. Meta/Books, 2016.

This week's Book of the Week pick comes from Kohei Oyama who has selected A Plastic Tool by Maya Rochat from Meta/Books.

"I first learned of Maya Rochat when I opened my inbox one day to find an email from Paris announcing her solo show with Galarie Olivier Robert. I was immediately drawn to her work, layers of crumpled metal emanating a kaleidoscopic rainbow of color deep beneath a layer of glass, clawed and scratched by a web of spidery fractures. Pulling up the gallery’s homepage, I searched for all the information I could find on Maya, and bought my copy of A PLASTIC TOOL.

The book’s orange, viridian, fluorescent pink, and black make for a striking palette. An orgy of organic form — water, vegetation, the human body, marbling effects — is punctured by scattered scribbles, scratches, and rot, scars of delectable discord. Maya employs myriad printing techniques to produce a vibrant collection of supernatural images. Noise-speckled video, solarisation, and an at times hair-raisingly eerie aura are manipulated with just the right amount of gravity. Her pieces are serious, but not too serious, and constitute a playful visual experience.

Her work is a riveting mashup, part collision of colors akin to traditional oil painting, part digital collage reminiscent of internet art. I plan to keep a close eye on her publications and installations in the years to come."—Kohei Oyama

Purchase Book

A Plastic Tool. By Maya Rochat. Meta/Books, 2016.

A Plastic Tool. By Maya Rochat. Meta/Books, 2016.

Kohei Oyama, curator of Newfave, an independent publishing house based in Tokyo-Hayama. The imprint focuses on emerging Japanese photographers, whose work it presents primarily as books, limited collector editions, and zines. Recent and notable collaborations feature Daisuke Yokota, Hiroshi Takizawa, Kenta Cobayashi, and Motoyuki Daifu. Aside from Newfave, Oyama actively curates exhibitions, organizes events, and contributes his writing to publications both in Japan and abroad.
http://newfavebooks.com/


See more Book of the Week picks