Frame Magazine


Oki Sato of Nendo imbued the Friedman
Benda gallery space in New York with an air of suspense generated by his
phantom-like Cabbage Chairs, which starred in Sato’s show, Ghost Stories.
Making good use of the softly lit space, Sato suspended 6800 white threads from
the ceiling and displayed 40 chairs that virtually merged into their
surroundings. Because the threads were partly coloured black –at different
heights– light from behind them produced shadows that gave the space itself a
pleated appearance. Sato says he used light not for illumination but to make
white appear and black disappear. Visitors entering the New York gallery saw
chairs standing on a sloping white surface. As they wandered though the interior,
they observed shadows cast by threads and the pleated edges of Sato’s chairs
seemingly melting away in the fragmented light.