In Memoriam of Ryuichi Sakamoto

Thank You Ryuichi Sakamoto

I owe my career as a curator to artists who put their trust in me, who have allowed me to work alongside them and produce something new, like Ryuichi Sakamoto. Ryuichi's performance with alva noto at the Glass House, which was subsequently pressed into the album Glass, was groundbreaking and breathtaking all at once. He wished to explore the resonance of glass and turned the entire Glass House into an instrument.

A few months following the performance, Ryuichi designed a new instrument, a large free-standing single pane of glass that he would use in async and his Park Avenue Armory performance, to my surprise, delight, and amazement.

Not many curators can say they have a project that was reviewed in Rolling Stone or Pitchfork, which was pretty damn cool. But what is most meaningful and humbling was learning the impact of the Glass House performance, that it could lead to new sounds and new creative avenues, even for a highly accomplished maestro like Ryuichi.

I knew Ryuichi's cancer returned, but he had beat it before; and I naively hoped we would work together again after this bout. Life is a fleeting, beautiful moment. Embrace it. 🖤 Ryuichi, I am grateful for the time I had with you, and I only wish I had more. You live on through your art. Ars Longa, Vita Brevis.

Thank you Norika Sora and Alec Fellman. You are and remain my creative family. 🙏

async:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlxVAExh_bYbnN6c4q1EJxcv559obwOBt

Film of Park Avenue Armory performance by Stephen Nomura Schible:
https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/ryuichi-sakamoto-async-at-the-park-avenue-armory/umc.cmc.25hk26mftuuz7v0o81eg4sbrw

Glass:
https://youtu.be/yYGUQippj5o

Film of Glass performance by Derrick Belcham: https://vimeo.com/191205737