OSAKA.- ARTCOURT Gallery is presenting Until the End of Time, a solo exhibition of works by Aeneas Wilder.

Born in 1967 in Edinburgh, Aeneas Wilder has been producing and exhibiting work since the late 1990s. He continues to expand his vibrant international career with sculptural installations, acclaimed around the world, that are born out of his unique perspective on gravity, time and space.

Over many hours and without using afixings or adhesives, Wilder meticulously stacks thousands of wooden sticks, cut into uniform size and held in place only by the natural forces of balance, gravity, and friction. Using minimal elements and within set parameters, he continues to explore a creative world of possibilities, through which he has developed his body of work that spans over two decades.

For his first solo exhibition at ARTCOURT Gallery in 10 years, Wilder created the work Untitled #201, a nearly 7 meter tall cylindrical tower that leans approximately 10 degrees, and Untitled #202, an installation that spans the space horizontally using 100-year-old eucalyptus wood, which together try to draw attention to the concept of the passage of time.

Wilder’s works, which often reference architectural structures and stand 4 to 5 meters high, possess an inherent impermanence that contradicts their monumental appearances. The majority of his works have the potential to instantly collapse into chaos, and are sometimes taken down with a kick from the artist causing it to topple on itself in a domino effect. Their fleeting existences can end in moments, which contrasts with the significant amount of time that he devotes to each work, from preparing the cut wood to tirelessly constructing the installation. Each piece of wood seems to represent moments of time that have gradually accumulated to become just one of the countless possible shapes.

“...We are all existing only moment by moment, and each successive moment is layered upon the other until the moments, together, represent a lifetime. The length, volume and content of that lifetime have no guarantees and vary enormously. Indeed, the variation and potential within the system is endless.” ––– Aeneas Wilder

Wilder gives his time to a cyclical way of art making, in which destruction is always followed by regeneration. Through this cycle of making temporary phenomena, the artist seeks to create just some of the infinite possibilities within his own finite lifetime. For him, this way of working is a kind of “open-ended system” that can be seen as a reflection of the cycle of life. These remarkable works by Wilder will encourage the viewers to also recognize the unlimited potential dwelling in one’s limited time, and to join him in a reflection on the transience of existence.