ART | Rattlesnake Gallery Hosts Glenn Ligon's First Solo Exhibition in Japan

ART│Works Exhibited at the White House by Presidential Selection

First Solo Exhibition in Japan by Glenn Ligon at Rat Hole Gallery

The first solo exhibition in Japan by New York-based artist Glenn Ligon will be held from Friday, March 29th to Sunday, June 30th at Rat Hole Gallery in Minami-Aoyama, featuring new paintings, neon works, and drawings.

Text by YANAKA Tomomi

Abstract Paintings and Neon Works Featuring Textual Motifs

Born in the Bronx, New York, in 1960, Glenn Ligon is known for his diverse practice across painting, neon, silkscreen, photography, installation, and video. Among his most celebrated works are the series of abstract paintings using text, created since the late 1980s. In recent years, he has been recognized as one of America's leading artists, with his work selected by President Obama for exhibition at the White House.

His style spans a wide range, from works that question race and sexuality to those rooted in the traditions of modernist painting and conceptual art. Furthermore, by employing texts and images drawn from sources as varied as American literature, children's books, and slave narratives, he offers sharp insights into American history and culture.

This exhibition showcases Ligon's signature flat works, characterized by the repetition of cited texts. A dialogue emerges between the formal aspect of repetition and the emotional resonance of the text itself, gradually rendering the quoted words illegible and elevating them into abstract compositions.

Notable among these are works from the "Stranger" series, where text-paintings coated in coal dust quote James Baldwin's 1953 essay "Stranger in the Village," which recounts his experience visiting a small Swiss village as an African American.

In addition, two neon works will be presented, employing contrasts of black and white created by light. These pieces serve as metaphors for the complexities of race, society, and politics, while also prompting contemplation on opposing concepts such as light and shadow, and life and death.

This is a unique opportunity to experience for the first time in Japan the world of Glenn Ligon, an artist fascinated by the power of words, the varying meanings of a single word across generations, and the concepts that shape self-identity in relation to culture and history. Through his art, one can perhaps gain a deeper understanding of the core of America—a nation of freedom, yet one with a complex history marked by slavery and civil war.

Glenn Ligon
Dates│Friday, March 29th – Sunday, June 30th (Closed Mondays)
Hours│12:00 – 20:00
Venue│Rat Hole Gallery
5-5-3 Minami-Aoyama B1, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Tel. 03-6419-3581