Kohei Nawa: PixCell and the Skin of Perception
Kohei Nawa, born in 1975 in Osaka, is one of the most inventive sculptors working in Japan. His art asks how we perceive the world through screens and surfaces, and his best-known works do it with startling beauty.
PixCell
Beginning in the early 2000s, Nawa covered objects, from stuffed animals to taxidermied deer, with transparent glass and acrylic spheres of different sizes. Each sphere magnifies and distorts what lies beneath, so the object dissolves into cells of light, like pixels on a screen. The name PixCell joins pixel and cell. The deer works, in particular, have become emblems of contemporary Japanese sculpture.
Other works
- Throne (2018): a towering gilded sculpture displayed beneath the glass pyramid of the Louvre.
- Foam: installations of bubbling foam that form and collapse.
- Force: streams of black silicone oil falling like rain.
Nawa works with a team at his studio, SANDWICH, in Kyoto, which also undertakes architecture and design projects.
How his work is collected
- Unique sculptures: for museums and major collectors.
- Editions and multiples: smaller PixCell and other sculptural editions.
- Prints and works on paper.
What to check
- Spheres: all present, clear and firmly attached, without chips or clouding.
- Documentation: certificates and edition numbers for multiples.
- Display: PixCell works need dust protection and careful handling; glass and acrylic scratch.
- Shipping: sculpture travels crated; read Importing Large, Heavy or High-Value Pieces.
Questions collectors ask
How do I clean a PixCell sculpture?
Gently, with a soft brush or air blower for dust. Never wipe with solvents.
Where can I see his work?
In museum collections in Japan and abroad, and in temporary exhibitions.