

images courtesy David Zwirner | click to enlarge

Continuing on with a few picks of upcoming Japanese artists showing in New York, I give you Yutaka Sone, who may have unknowingly produced the heaviest (and most expensive?) map of Manhattan.

Little Manhattan (2007 – 09), which is part of the artist’s solo show at David Zwirner (opening September 20) was painstakingly carved from a block of marble and consists of excruciating detail that was replicated using photographs, Google Earth and several helicopter rides over the city. I do hope the artist was happy where he was working because at 2.5 tones, it’s a bit different from rearranging your furniture.

Originally trained as an architect, Sone’s obsession with landscape and construction have led him to produce similar pieces that replicate Hong Kong Island, Los Angeles highway junctions, a mountain range, a section of a rainforest, ski resorts, and his own backyard.







