Founded in 2021, NISO is committed to supporting the next generation of talents as well as rediscovering the legacy of XXth Century artists whose remarkable contributions to Art History have gone unnoticed in recent times. Located in Central London, the gallery provides a dynamic platform to present solo exhibitions and intergenerational dialogues in collaboration with artists, estates, and representing galleries. 

NISO has been committed to supporting the next generation of talents as well as rediscovering the legacy (...)

Supporting early-career artists, rediscovering overlooked masters from the XXth Century. 

Sawako Nasu (Tokyo, b. 1998) lives and works in Tokyo, Japan. The artist holds a BFA and MFA from the Tokyo University of Arts. Solo exhibitions include: Sunny, Rainy at Biscuit Gallery, Tokyo, Japan (2023); Slipped Moonlight, Ginza Tsutaya Books, Tokyo, Japan (2022); To the Lighthouse, myheirloom, Tokyo, Japan (2022). Recent group exhibitions include: Biscuit Gallery 3rd Anniversary Exhibition「grid3」, Biscuit Gallery, Tokyo (2024); Inaugural Group Exhibition, NISO, London (2024);「Selection」, KEN NAKAHASHI, Tokyo, Japan (2024); Draw Lines & Shapes in My Maps, Taka Ishii Gallery Maebashi, Maebashi, Japan (2023).

Landscape n.1, 2024   120 x 170 cm   Oil on Canvas

Landscape n.2, 2024   80 x 100 cm   Oil on Canvas

Landscape n.3, 2024   56 x 74 cm   Oil on Canvas

Landscape n.4, 2024   56 x 71 cm   Oil on Canvas

Landscape n.5, 2024   56 x 71 cm   Oil on Canvas

Landscape n.6, 2024   56 x 71 cm   Oil on Canvas

Installation view of Vestige, NISO, London, September 2024.

Portrait of A Man n.1, 2024   50 x 41 cm   Oil on Canvas 

Portrait of A Man n.2, 2024   40 x 31 cm   Oil on Canvas 

Portrait of A Man n.3, 2024   40 x 31 cm   Oil on Canvas 

Portrait of A Man n.4, 2024   40 x 31 cm   Oil on Canvas 

Portrait of A Man n.5, 2024   40 x 31 cm   Oil on Canvas 

Portrait of A Man n.6, 2024   40 x 31 cm   Oil on Canvas 

Portrait of A Man n.7, 2024   40 x 31 cm   Oil on Canvas 

A virtuoso in portraiture and travel painting – Proctor’s mostly autobiographical works freely depict the artist’s surroundings. Delicate renderings in watercolour relate quotidian scenes ranging from the landscapes he encountered on his bohemian wanderings from the Middle East to Asia “Kyoto, Golden Temple, Rain” (1991) to the intimate portraits of friends, lovers and colleagues made from the comfort of in his living room “Portrait of Richard Buckle” (1968), “Peter Hinwood”(1969). A chronicle of daily life as an artist, a dandy, and an integral member of the swinging sixties, Procktor’s honest reflections deeply resonate with the modern-day documentation of life in the digital Age.

Marked by a unique and understated painterly language that blends traditional and contemporary influences – Procktor’s portraits reveal a subdued and pasty palette and lingering atmosphere redolent of the pre-pop ‘Euston Road’ artistic movement, combined with an audacious use of white space that parallels the aesthetic modernity of the time. Marked by a non-hierarchical way of seeing, extraneous detail is opted out, figures carefully poised within the white space of the paper - some with mannerist distortions – coming together in a gentle and elegant quality that is muted in its transparency and deliberate areas of unpainted surface.

Balanced with an equal measure of finesse and flair – the subjects of Procktor’s portraits unveil a colourful melee of artists, musicians, designers, photographers and socialites that relay to the audience a generational snapshot of the milieu of art, theatre, fashion and rock music the artist inhabits.

Among them, some of the greatest figures of the era as well as many queer icons such as his friend the artist David Hockney and fashion designer Ossie Clark, interior designer Christopher Gibbs, Richard Beer, Peter Schlesinger, Mo McDermott, David Gwinnett, Francis Bacon, Mick Jagger, Jimi Hendrix, and Cecil Beaton; making up an almost complete cast of the ‘swinging’ London of the 60s and 70s.

Seemingly unguarded, Procktor’s portraits and renderings show a recurring - almost voyeuristic - depiction of the male figure – as carefree bodies recline half- naked “Brittas Bay” (1968), baking in the summer heat in parks “Lawn” (1975), or on the decks of boats “Tropic of Cancer”(1974). Conjuring airs of queer eros and nonchalance, these epitomise much of the liberal revolution of the time, where accepted norms of behaviour, sexual and otherwise, were being jettisoned for a new age of social freedoms.

A charismatic dandy renowned for his Wildean theatricality and wit, Procktor was one of the UK’s most controversial and enigmatic figures. Spanning several decades, his work compassed diverse styles and mediums, subject to significant acclaim as well as controversy over his lifetime. First gaining recognition the year after his graduation, his first show at the Redfern was a sell-out before it opened. The following year, Bryan Robertson selected him for the seminal 1963 exhibition “New Generation” at the Whitechapel, exhibiting his early paintings – dynamic, abstract depictions of the male nude – alongside those of the most promising artists of his time Patrick Caulfield, John Hoyland, Bridget Riley and David Hockney. With subsequent tendencies that included the out-of-vogue medium of watercolour, paired with the thematic monotony of his 1968 ‘One Boy Show’ fiasco - Procktor’s acclaim would never reach that of his close friend and muse David Hockney. By the mid-90s, doomed by alcoholism and a series of personal disasters that included a fire that destroyed his home and much of his art, brief spells of incarceration and homelessness quickly ensued, blighting the later years of his life.

Today, his prints, watercolours, and oil and acrylic paintings sit in private and public institutions including the British Museum, the Tate, the National Portrait Gallery, The Los Angeles County Museum, the Metropolitan Museum (NY), and the MoMA (NY), subject to a particular resurgence since the publishing of Ian Massey’s major monograph “Patrick Procktor: Art and Life” in 2010. Spotlights include Tate Britain's survey show of watercolourists in 2011 and Queer British Art exhibition in 2017, as well as his acclaimed retrospective at Huddersfield Art Gallery in 2012, and the eponymous exhibition at Palazzo Bentivoglio (Bologna) “A View From A Window” in 2022.

The exhibition “The Flower is Always in The Almond” at NISO Gallery showcases Daniel Brusatin’s latest series of works, exploring the hidden potential and inherent growth in nature and humanity. Using natural materials, Brusatin creates pieces that reflect the evolution of organic forms, akin to seeds containing the promise of future flowers.

The title is a poetic statement about the latent potential in all beings. Just as the flower sleeps within the seed, these works hold energy waiting to be released, promising growth and transformation. The exhibition establishes a dialogue not only with matter but also with time and spirit, meditating on what is and what could be, the visible and the hidden, the tangible and the ethereal.

The show celebrates the cycles of nature, exploring fragility and strength, and the perpetual search for meaning through art. Brusatin invites the viewer to immerse themselves in an experience where the primordial and the eternal intertwine. The works are arranged in a space that guides an introspective journey, reflecting the intrinsic connection between nature and human creation. Each element is a microcosm of meaning, a whisper of the very essence of existence.

The blue circular mosaic, titled “The Flower is Always in The Almond”, with its rich chromatic palette and sinuous lines, celebrates fragmentation and cohesion. The small stone fragments, precisely assembled, represent a whole that transcends the sum of its parts. Inspired by the sea and the sky, this piece invites contemplation of the dialogue between the immutable and the ephemeral. The deep blue choice reinforces a sense of immensity and contemplation, evoking the vastness of natural elements and the meditative nature of mosaic art.

The sculptures evoking “Totems” are pillars of history and mythology, objects that, by their form and presence, seem to hark back to archaic times. These totems, with their rough surfaces and varying heights, rise from the ground as witnesses of an ancestral era, speaking of ceremonies and rituals of connection with the earth. On the other hand, the pieces resembling bird “Nests” offer an intimate and protective contrast, suggesting a space of shelter and birth. These concave forms, carefully crafted, lead us to reflect on security and vulnerability, on how nature creates spaces for life in its most fragile state.

The three wooden sculptures, “Derinkuyu, Ellora, and Lalibela”, with an almost volcanic texture, embody erosion and the passage of time. Their perforated surfaces suggest a contained force, shaped by wind, water, and fire. These pieces represent the natural process of wear, where each hole tells the story of its creation, evolution, and transformation. It is a testament to how matter can be simultaneously solid and vulnerable, heavy and light, opaque and translucent.

The compositions on canvas, titled “Embers and Whispers”, worked with perforations and burns, amplify the duality of creation and destruction. Each burn on the canvas becomes a trace of fire, a reminder of impermanence. The perforations, arranged with an almost mathematical sense, suggest coding and hidden messages. These works echo the idea that, in art, as in nature, every mark, scar, and scratch contributes to the object’s narrative.

At the heart of the exhibition stands “Intimate Immensity”, a large-scale work that dominates the space with its monumental presence. Constructed with raw materials like burlap and earthy tones, this piece embodies the tension between the vastness of the cosmos and the intimacy of human experience. The delicate balance of textures and forms invites viewers to lose themselves in its vast landscape while simultaneously grounding them in the tactile reality of the materials. This duality captures the essence of Brusatin’s exploration of the infinite within the finite.

This collection not only reflects Brusatin’s technical skill but also his ability to infuse his works with profound emotional and spiritual resonance. By intertwining tradition and modernity, the exhibition invites reflection on the viewer’s place in the continuous cycle of life and the universe.

The powerfully present idea of silences as moments of mutation and connection between works evokes an intermediate space where time dissolves, allowing the pieces to dialogue with each other in a language that transcends the verbal. These silences are like pauses in a visual symphony, intervals that not only mark the rhythm of the journey but also imbue each work with latent potential. In these interstices, the works not only exist but transform and reveal themselves to each other, creating a tapestry of meanings in constant evolution. It is in these silences that the cyclical, organic, and eternal essence of art manifests, showing how each piece is rooted in a temporal continuum that transcends its individual existence.

Text written by Christian Domínguez Dietzel

Installation view of The Flower is Always in the Almond. January, 2025. NISO, London. 

Intimate Immensity, 200 x 300 cm Daniel Brusatin

NISO

NISO

24.01—01.03.25

24.01—01.03.25

Artists

Sawako Nasu

Sawako Nasu

Patrick Procktor

Patrick Procktor

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