Hiroshi Kariya is a Japanese artist known for his "Self-archaeological Art"—a practice in which he explores fundamental human-constructed concepts such as existence, language, consciousness, and definition through various media, including collage and painting. His works incorporate personal artifacts and elements drawn from news media to present illusions that prompt reflection on the nature of reality and perception. 

 

　A defining characteristic of his work is the presentation of "the now is"—a written record of the "present continuous" spanning fifty years. He presents objects that serve as existential records—artifacts that encompass the history of his trial-and-error processes, as well as discarded materials and waste. He moved to the United States in 1977.

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   -"The now is" Writing- 

    Kariya's work is a record of his self-archaeological art. The world we live in is given to him as a mere illusion, "as it is given to be." he questions this phenomenal world, existence, language, consciousness, and all their presuppositions, definitions, and common sense. The process of questioning, including trial and error, is reflected in the creative process, and he plan to transform this process into a work of art. he calls this method *self-archaeological art*, and he creates installations using the moment of time that represents the present "as it is given" as an object, and then examine its illusory surface.

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　Kariya continuously describes all the phenomena of this world, a single simultaneity, with the three letters "the now is." ① "the" is an index, ② "now" is simultaneity, and ③ "is" is a trinity that testifies to all existence. These three letters are applied to the objects directly or indirectly as an archetype. They induce illusions such as spells or codes of worldly desires and concepts, and fences. The works use news articles and events that represent the background of their creation for existential verification. The exhibition serves as a perspective for observing and verifying the true nature of the illusory landscape of the information society.

 

　In Kariya first presents a record of virtual experiences to himself, using the principles of art. "Virtual" means something that does not retain its form but continues to flow, an attached file stored in a temporary frame, showing the perspective of the temporary encoding "The now is." The ultimate point, THE, is no longer THE, a theoretical discussion of eternity; imagination is creation, presenting a prize. Therefore, he encodes virtual expressions into everyday encounters. It is a playful scholarship that is only a simulation of the present. The work is an attachment and explanation of personal beliefs, consciousness, existence, or itself. He continues to meditate on the illusion of the painting THE, which is not bound by the constraints of time and space, and the composition of the three letters "The now is."

 

   -The Simultaneity of "The now is"-
　The three letters "The now is" are a code that declares the simultaneity of all existence. Each of the three letters independently connects referent, creation, and phenomenon into a single system. The three letters explain the structural concept in which the trinity of "subject, phenomenon, and existence" is simultaneously realized. Kariya consciously experiences the present through the act of description. Nature, phenomenon, and existence are all one. Therefore, each and every one of us, including the dust, possesses "the now is." And I am one with "the now is." Simultaneous with the dust. Therefore, there is no distinction. The structure "the, now, is" is a tool for observing intention, creation, and action. The unconscious is created through repeated description and action. We are powerful conscious beings. Our intended goals are materialized through repeated practical actions and intense contemplation. Starting with the virtual, we move down to the details of the real world, intending a scene that is vibrant with emotion.

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   -About The Face Sutra-
   A work is presented as a "structure" for observing superficiality. The surface is the back, or explanation of the background, and the back is the layer of observation from the viewer's perspective. It is a device that reveals the superficial side of structure. Structure is a story of superficiality, and story is a story of information. Explanation is a mechanism that evokes further explanation. How can these be reflected in society? The creative process, metaphorically referred to as "narrative," is intentionally left pictorially on the surface as traces of description. "Artistic quality" is presented as an in-progress action or a fragmented account of life. The countless minute details of the objects involved in the creative process—their relationships with things, events, and everything in the world—continue to be connected in a single line to the direction of the observer's perspective.

 

    -About The Armory Works-
   Kariya accompanied the exhibition of sister works at the 2019 Armory Show with the caption "Law and Order/His." Countless traces of conflict, background, and history remain "pictorially" on the painting's surface. These are labeled "errors," artificial labels for right and wrong, chance, necessity, meaning, and meaninglessness. At the same time, they are integrated into "the now is." Kariya moves between creation, fiction, objectivity and subjectivity, concept and expression. He observes a landscape in which he examiness, observe, and enjoys the structural traces of the brushstrokes—the drips of paint, the definition of surfaceness, and the dialectic of creation.

  At the solo exhibition "Archetype" this spring, Kariya had planned to create a "Face Sutra" piece, in which visitors would voluntarily wear face masks. However, the exhibition was canceled and closed early due to the arrival of April Fools' Days of COVID-19. The image of the face is a randomly selected time stamp from a newspaper article, cutouts pasted on the back of a Seed Sutra.

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   Imagination, chance, and necessity appear simultaneously. Paintings also contain transgressions—mistakes made in action. If the viewer encounters a misalignment of the three letters, it is the paint of a painting that they happen to see, the drips and smudges of a brush, the misalignment of a criminal's brush tip, hesitation, mistakes, or the waveform of scratches on the film of a fabricated "Space Opera 2025."