Katsumi Nakai. Flying High

21.10.2025

Katsumi Nakai. Flying High
16 October 2025 – 30 January 2026

After his early abstract-informal explorations with the Tekkeikai group in Osaka, Katsumi Nakai found in Milan, from 1964 onward, a stimulating environment that led to a transformation of his artistic production. While his debut in Venice was still painterly, at his 1967 solo exhibition at the Galleria del Naviglio in Milan he presented his new “painting-objects”: shaped and painted wooden works that unfold to take on ever-changing forms.
These are works that invite reflection on the poetry of blossoming — of opening (hiraku) — and of constant transformation. Through a coherent and evolving research, enriched by multiple influences, Nakai created works that make the imagination “fly high,” recalling the lightness and endless variety of Japanese kites (tako). These notes focus on those very aspects of Nakai’s practice, documented also by contemporary reflections.

Corso Monforte 23, Milan, 20122