Natsumi Hayashi

Today’s Levitations
February 8 – March 29

An art gallery interior with blue carpeted floors and art works on the walls, down a central hallway leading to visible windows at the end, and a blue bench in the distance.
Pink background with the text "natsumi hayashi : today’s levitation" in lowercase, centered.
A spacious art gallery with white walls displaying framed photographs, a blue sofa, and green chairs in a seating area, under ceiling lights.
An art gallery interior featuring white walls adorned with framed photographs, a gray carpeted floor, and seating areas with a blue sofa and green benches. Bright lighting and visible windows.
A contemporary art gallery featuring a spacious room with white walls lined with variously sized framed paintings, including a prominent one of a train, and a seating area to the left.
An empty art gallery interior featuring white walls adorned with framed artworks, grey carpeting, and a seating area with blue sofas on the left.
A photograph framed in white is displayed on a gallery wall, showing a scene with a train and colorful details. Text on the wall reads "naoshima higashi | today's location.
An empty art gallery hallway with white walls featuring a small painting on the left, text excerpts, and a visible exit sign at the far end.
A minimalist art gallery wall with a single framed photograph titled "Natsumi Hayashi : Today's Levitation" displayed on a light gray wall, illuminated subtly.
A dimly lit art gallery hall with three framed paintings evenly spaced on a beige wall, over a gray carpeted floor, creating a tranquil viewing space.
An interior view of a gallery with white walls displaying various framed artworks, a grey carpeted floor, and soft lighting.
Visitors observing and discussing artwork in a well-lit gallery with white walls, featuring framed photographs hung at eye level.
People viewing and discussing photographs at an art gallery exhibition, with refreshments on a table in the foreground.
People viewing artwork in a gallery, focusing on a large framed painting of a blue train. The setting is warmly lit and has a cozy, attentive atmosphere.
Three people observing a framed artwork in a gallery, with flowers and refreshments on a nearby table. The room is softly lit, creating a calm atmosphere.
Two men viewing and discussing paintings hung on a gallery wall in an indoor exhibition space.
An elderly couple, both dressed in black with red accessories, view a framed photograph of colorful fuel pumps in an art gallery.
A woman in winter clothing reaches for a capsule from a row of colorful vending machines while leaning forward with excitement.
A young woman leaps over a turnstile in a busy subway station while bystanders watch. Signs and ticket machines are visible in the background.
A woman with a backpack leaps over a turnstile in a subway station, displaying urgency and agility.
A woman in a white blouse and red skirt appears to be floating as she exits a train, while other passengers walk on the platform.
A young woman in a blue dress and black boots appears suspended in mid-air as she talks on a public payphone surrounded by lush greenery.
A woman in a ballerina outfit, balancing on the frame of a bicycle, stretches elegantly towards a blue-and-white train at a station.
A person is humorously pretending to fly while using a public phone booth in a modern indoor setting with three other phone booths visible.

Press Release

In this series, Hayashi captivates her audience and suspends belief in the understanding of the Earth’s gravitational pull. Sailing down sidewalks, gliding through subway terminals, and hovering above water fountains, each levitating self portrait uses familiar places in her daily life as the setting for her floating narrative.

Fascinated by the English idiom of “having ones feet on the ground,” Hayashi composes a series of photographs that release her from terra firma. A shutter speed of 1/500th of a second or faster allows Hayashi to capture herself suspended in air -achieving the illusion of effortless levitation. Attaining the right shot can involve numerous attempts, in many cases Hayashi jumps over 100 times to accomplish the sense of being unencumbered.

Natsumi Hayashi received her graduate degree from the School of Community and Human Services at Saint Paul’s University in Tokyo and works on her ongoing self-portrait diary project “Today’s Levitation” as “yowayowa camera woman diary” meaning “a feeble camera woman’s diary”. This exhibition is Natsumi Hayashi’s first show in the United States.

High-resolution images are available on request. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook: @levygallery 

Dates: February 8–March 29, 2013
Reception: March 9, 6–8 pm
Hours: Tuesday–Saturday, 11 am–4 pm
Location: 514 Central Avenue SW, Albuquerque, NM 87102
Contact: 505.766.9888, info@levygallery.com, www.levygallery.com @levygallery

Artwork and Information
Natsumi Hayashi