"From Red to Blue, From Blue to Red" Naoko Kamiwakita December 2009, 12 - December 21, 2009
Venue: Art Gallery T+
Date: December 2009, 12 - January 21, 2009
Exhibitor: Naoko Kamiwakita
(1st year Master's student in Western painting, Process Arts)
An exhibition of two-dimensional works using acrylic, soft pastels, etc.
T+review
The wind is blowing coldly these days. The richness of the warm colors, such as red, yellow, and orange, piqued the curiosity of many people, and they came to this exhibition. I was one of them. As I walked along, my eyes fascinated by the colors in the exhibition, a white sign appeared below me, with the words "From Red to Blue, From Blue to Red" written on it. What on earth could it mean?
Stepping into the venue, I gently approached the vividly colored works that were lined up on the pure white wall, as if they were floating. In "Flower," which shows two consecutive square panels, a large flower is painted in red and pink, flowing and dripping. When viewed from a distance, it blends into the flower and disappears from view, but when you get close enough to reach out and touch it, a countless collage of human feet caught in the gaps between the petals and flowers that we usually see is created. The artist stated that the work gives the impression of being "somewhat scary and creepy, contrary to the image of flowers." Perhaps the explanatory nature of the work helps, but there is a dreamlike time that flows slowly but surely.
The series of works entitled "Uncertainty" and "Maybe it was a dream" are centered around the pomegranate motif, and have a sense of transparency and fusion, as if only the warm colors of sunlight filtered through a prism were projected onto the canvas. In the first two works, a realistically drawn bird swallowing a pomegranate is lined up next to the same bird, as if in a mirror, in an unrealistic appearance. Is it possible that the bird, with its fantastical colors that are far removed from its original color, is depicted with only heat and a sense of life remaining? The juicy pomegranate fruit that follows. When you see this work, you cannot help but want to put it in your mouth. The aura of the rich fruit dominates the surrounding space, and the taste and aroma of the pomegranate are reproduced to our five senses. Was this also the temptation of the fruit that Eva ate, tempted by the snake? I realized when the artist pointed this out to me that, very subtly, from "Uncertainty" to "Maybe it was a dream," the shape of the pomegranate work changes from a vague bird to a reclining person, depending on the composition. This change gives a warm and comfortable feeling of a flow of time, space, and imagery.
This exhibition was held as a culmination of the artist's work that he created over the course of a year. The artist said, "The techniques, concepts, and color expressions in my work changed constantly, and there were also intense ups and downs of success and failure during the creation process, so I named the exhibition after colors." However, the colorful works themselves also seem to express a theme of gradual change.
(Mariko Tsuji)
