Special exhibition “Idemitsu Art Award Artist Selection 2021”

When I came across Xu Ning's work, I was deeply shocked. I felt that Xu's style of expression, in which the free brushstrokes of gorgeous and colorful colors dance like crazy on a pure white canvas, was too free-spirited. The series of undulating brushstrokes on the screen seemed to be showing off the expression itself through paint, rather than creating any kind of image. However, after observing Shu's works for a while, I began to see parts that reminded me of plant-like shapes. By confirming several such places, we recognized the overlapping free brush strokes of the paint as an artificial flower garden, just as a person would draw a large icon by connecting several stars. It was done. This kind of back and forth between abstract expression and concrete form is not unique to Shu. However, the magnitude of the amplitude is still noteworthy.

Takamatsu searches for the compositions and landscapes he wants to depict from snapshots and movie scenes, and uses them as a reference to recreate them as paintings. Although a painting of a depicted scene can stand alone, it is often presented as a combination of multiple points. Then, each scene, which originally had no connection and existed in a completely different context, begins to develop a single story. Depending on which paintings are combined and how they are displayed on the wall, for example, setting a time axis can hint at a story, or emphasizing relationships can create a correlation diagram. This time, he would like to take a slightly opposite idea to his previous works and create two paintings on a single canvas in an attempt to express the movement of time and perspective. When I heard this, I imagined the simultaneous drawing method, which expresses different times within a single composition, and the panel layout technique used in manga, but what kind of work would it actually be? I hope that it will present a screen that is open to all kinds of possibilities.

Tsuboi continues to depict the texture of folds, wrinkles, and sagging surfaces, and objects that look like blue sheets often serve as motifs in his paintings. For example, in Buddhist sculpture, the Asuka period, the Tenpyo period, and the early Heian period had distinctive clothing lines, and in European Christian paintings and sculptures of the Gothic period, the folds seen in the clothes of saints were created. Cloth drapes have often fascinated people and created trends in each era, as it is sometimes possible to identify a period based on the style. The tableau of “blue sheets”, which are used like clothes to protect the body, to protect buildings, or to cover up scars caused by natural disasters, indicates the presence of foreign objects in the landscape that should be protected and hidden. It can be said that this work has the potential to be seen by future generations as a trace of the landscape unique to this era.

At first glance, it looks like an abstract painting. Lines drawn with a thick brush undulate and fade across the canvas. There is a lot of white space, and only the lines stand out. However, at a certain moment, he “recognizes” that this is a drawing of a dining table. You will see plates of fruit, drink bottles, and cakes. Sometimes the clue is hidden in the title, like “Cake and Fork.” He says he draws from memory based on meals he has actually experienced. Occasionally, the situation is depicted, such as the horizon line behind the soft-serve ice cream or people gathering to eat. The title of the work, which is a combination of multiple screens, says “Transmission”, perhaps because it refers to the Instagram screen on which the photo of the meal was uploaded. The balance between figuration and abstraction is pleasant, and the work is full of an easy-going, bright feeling of happiness.