"Flowers in the Sun" by Midori Yooka June 2014, 6 - June 23, 2014
Venue: Art Gallery T+
Date: June 2014, 6 (Monday) - June 23, 2014 (Friday)
Exhibitor: Midori Yooka (2nd year, Master's Program, Western Painting, Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba)
This is an exhibition of works submitted for graduation research.
T+review
This exhibition was a show of the works submitted by the exhibitor for his graduation research, and was a very significant exhibit. At first glance, I had mistaken the works for Japanese paintings through the glass, but when I saw the materials used, I immediately realized that the works were not Japanese-style paintings. The exhibitor had used not only oil paints, but also traditional Japanese drawing materials such as ink in his works. The colors were composed of light browns that reminded me of silk paintings. The composition of the works was also reminiscent of classical Japanese paintings. I felt that they were fresh.
Japan is an island nation blessed with rain and many rivers and seas, and culture has developed alongside water. Perhaps for this reason, water is the primary medium used in Japanese paintings. However, the medium used in this exhibition was oil. I felt a freshness that was "like water" from "oil," which is supposed to be a contradictory substance. It was a strange sensation. I was taken by surprise. I should mention here that until I pushed open the door to the gallery, I thought that the exhibits on the gallery wall I was looking at through the glass were Japanese paintings. Perhaps it was my own preconception that created the strange sense of incongruity. What is oil, what is water? The self-portrait, which is unaffected and transparent, also suggests the strong commitment of the exhibitor.
However, the more time I spent looking at her works, the more I began to feel a sense of incongruity. As I mentioned earlier, her works feature traditional Japanese compositions and colors, but it seemed to me that she was not able to fully incorporate them into her own work.
What is truly important in Japanese painting is space. It seems to exist but does not, the presence and absence. This is the spirit most required in Japanese painting. I would like to see her work that reaches beyond this. In any case, she gave me a good stimulus.
