Zenshi Gallery // September 3-October 9

Kaoru Arima’s unorthodox exhibition "Natural Freedom" comprises approximately two hundred untitled works on paper in piles through which the gloveless viewer is invited to browse. The pieces are loosely grouped by theme and stacked on various surfaces. Seating includes camp chairs and a tatami mat.

Handling the drawings is titillating and intimate, even under the benevolent supervision of the gallerist. Arima uses a variety of papers: found newsprint, loose-leaf, and thin grayish sheets that he unapologetically terms "poor quality." The textures feel raw and precious. The artist’s lines and washes are exquisite. The best drawings have an awkward sexiness or exhibit mannerist elongations. In one drawing, an angelic boy reclines on a grassy plain. In another, a couple is locked in an erotic embrace, mouth cupping ear. Others are clumsier, such as those with hokey earth-mother motifs or scribbled with hackneyed statements, like "The Present Is Past and Future," that recall De La Vega’s New York sidewalk chalking. Arima, who creates only on paper, claims that he edited substantially for this show, but the sense of stream of consciousness remains.

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In the spirit of his cooperative gallery, Art Drug Center, Arima has made the exhibition a "solo show with other artists." The works by those others, displayed on the walls, on a makeshift pedestal, and on a laptop on the floor, include an animated short by a promising student named Ryo Hirano, a framed painting by Shunsuke Imai, and childish painted rocks by Tai Ogawa. This eclectic mix — sheaves of drawings, mismatched furniture, colorful stones — produces a cross between an innovative way to experience art and a rummage sale. Regardless, Arima’s most masterful drawings shine through, brighter for all the noise.

"Reviews: Kaoru Arima" originally appeared in the February 2011 issue of Modern Painters. For a complete list of articles from this issue available on ARTINFO, see Modern Painters' February 2011 Table of Contents.