On Kawara
Sonsbeek 2026
Rozet, Arnhem
Inleiding
Pure Consciousness, 1998-current
Installation documentation at OBS Hugo de Grootschool, Arnhem, 2026
With seven paintings from Today (1966-2013), 1997
A key figure in the conceptual art movement that emerged in New York in the 1960s, On Kawara engaged with chronological time as a measure of human existence. On January 4th, 1966, the artist started the Today series with a painting recording the date in white letters against a dark background; over the next 48 years he would complete nearly 3,000 such Date Paintings. For the artist, so profoundly engaged with time and existence, every day is a monument. Seven of these paintings (1 to 7 January, 1997) form Pure Consciousness, a traveling installation exhibited in kindergarten classrooms for a duration of one day to two months. The work is not educational, and forgoes the social aim connected to that process. Adults are not allowed to explain the paintings or respond to children’s queries, nor elicit reactions. The title reflects the child’s direct encounter with the paintings, and their apprehension of phenomena, unaffected by past experiences. In May 2026, the works were hung at the OBS Hugo de Grootschool in northeast Arnhem. Documentation photography of the installation is made available so the viewer can bear witness to the work, together with a booklet with photography and an essay. These materials show how the children lived with the works—generating ideas about the memories that might have formed subconsciously. The work forms a poetic link with On Kawara’s participation in Sonsbeek 1971, when he sent a telegram stating “I AM STILL ALIVE ” from New York to Arnhem. In the same line, within Sonsbeek 2026, On Kawara’s work guides us toward understanding memory as a generative force—a question of the present, forever unfolding, and alive.
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About the artist
On Kawara (29,771 days) engaged with chronological time and its function as a measure of human existence. A key figure in the conceptual art movement that emerged in New York in the 1960s, the artist’s work is organized into discrete series that together form a meditative examination of time and place. The artist has had numerous solo shows at venues including Tai Kwun, Hong Kong, 2025; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, 2015; Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens, Sint-Martens-Latem, 2015; Dallas Museum of Art, 2008; and Städtischen Galerie im Lenbachhaus und Kunstbau München, 2000. His work has also appeared in many group shows, recently held at venues including Bourse de Commerce – Pinault Collection, Paris, 2025; Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris, 2024; Palazzo Grassi – Punta della Dogana, Venice 2023; Museum moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien, Vienna, 2022; and Hamburger Kunsthalle, 2022. On Kawara’s work is represented in museum collections internationally, including Centre Pompidou, Paris; Dia, Beacon; Glenstone, Potomac, MD; Kunstmuseum Basel; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Moderna Museet, Stockholm; Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo; Museum Ludwig, Cologne; Museum of Modern Art, New York; Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt; National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo; Philadelphia Art Museum; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Tate, London; Toyota Municipal Museum of Art, Toyota City, Japan; and Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.
© One Million Years Foundation
Presented by Sonsbeek 2026 in collaboration with Rozet
Made possible by One Million Years Foundation