In BLOOM

Anthony Vaccarello of Saint Laurent commissions an installation that proves to be the first of its kind: a poetic daytime firework display at the storied Yotsukura Beach in Iwaki City.

- MAYA MENON

After devastation, there is often bloom. Such is the story told through the eyes and hands of prolific Chinese contemporary artist Cai Guo Qiang. Born in Quanzhou, China, Cai has mastered various mediums, from performance art and painting to installation and video. The mode most synonymous with him, however, is his life-sized installations dubbed 'gunpowder works. Inspired by Eastern philosophy, these on-site displays manifest as a physical response to the world as seen by Cai. Staged as intricate outdoor spectacles, his smoky, floating paintings take inspiration from not only the location it is being displayed at, but also the interconnected culture and history of its surroundings. As such, the artist's impact has transcended borders. A Golden Lion, Hiroshima Art Prize and Fukuoka Prize recipient, Cai is also a laureate of the Japan Art Association's Praemium Imperiale for painting. Most recently, he also clinched the Isamu Noguchi Award.