Painting and Drawings in Japan: November 2024

Monday, November 18, 2024

Erin Wright - Maki Gallery - Tokyo

Erin Wright

The Thief 2023

Acrylic on canvas

106.7 x 189.9 x 3.8 cm

Visits to a range of Tokyo galleries endowed with artworks had the unfortunate effect of lowering my mood either because the subject matter was overly negative or the works themselves were poorly constructed. Other works suffered because of the limited sensibility of the artist. Occasionally the prevailing gloom was enlivened by one or two interesting pieces on show. Hence it was a delight to come across Erin Wright's work depicting perhaps a potential cat burglar on the loose or maybe the family pet in super hungry mode?

Entitled The Thief 2023, the work celebrates a cat’s quotidian behaviour of being sneaky, greedy, and stealthy in its greyish, dark, raw umber-striped coat, silently slinking around on top of a well-provisioned dinner table before a meal is served. As the cat is about to get its paws into the biggest, tastiest-looking fish, the centrepiece of the table, the viewer is left to speculate whether this is a snatch and run or dinner for one on the table?

Pets in Japan are often pampered and any visit to a local supermarket will reveal an amazing selection of delicacies from which owners of domestic beasts might choose to entice furry family members. Yet domestic pet scenes in paintings are somehow missing from mainstream contemporary art although there is no doubt that they themselves are integral to the urban and country side societal memory. A notable exception is the British painter David Hockney who has no hesitation in painting his beloved dachshunds, Stanley and Boodgie, accepting them as part of his family.

Given this apparent void, it is great to see this painting with its sense of universality as, no matter what country you live in, the feline propensity to steal food intended for others is instantly recognisable Wright’s painting of the cat as a thief is a wonderful domestic image. Her acrylic painting system is equally savvy, and there are many subtle nuances of painting within The Thief that in some ways is reminiscent of the Golden Age of Dutch painting, albeit created with a contemporary painting system

For example, in the image above which is part of the dinner setting through which the cat has tip toed around in avid exploration, there are two glasses on the grey green tablecloth. In the left-hand glass there is a beautiful refraction of transparent plum light at the base of the glass; it is very subtle and beautifully rendered in acrylic. Close by there are other traces of whitish reflection on the outside of the drinking utensil which seem to have a slight off-white ochre mix delicately added adding the slightest warmth to this most liminal trace of painting that has forensically shaped the form of the glass a very clever painting effect.

Lastly but most interestingly the aerial view of the motif seems to catch the cat unaware of any presence watching it about steal the fish, caught in the moment of analysis seeking the best way to retrieve fish from the dish without getting caught. This is a most crucial time for the cat as any delay in the act of thievery within the space would not be propitious for a victorious escape with the prize. The communication of this tension makes for an intriguing image that is well painted.

Thursday, November 7, 2024

Art Collaboration Kyoto 2024—Kyoto International Conference Center

It’s been some time since I have attended an art fair and, to be honest given its current influx of visitors, Kyoto wasn’t high on my agenda but, as it was close to my abode, its proximity was a challenge to a dinosaur like myself to get out of the studio and look around for once. To my surprise the Kyoto Art Collaboration was very easy to access from Kobe. Further it was not located in the main stream tourist venues of that ancient city, an added plus being it was enticingly picturesque with the late autumn leaves.

A good viewing concept

On show were 69 galleries from around the globe making it a truly international exhibition. The open feeling of the exhibiting space was visually pleasurable as its white cube was breathing and allowing a throughfare through the gallery’s areas; this served to release the congestion visually and physically for relaxed and comfortable inquiry into the artworks on exhibit.

武艺凡 Wu Yifan - Sprinkle Hydrochloric acid on the snow 2022

Oil on canvas - 60 cm x 80 cm

One artist that caught my attention was Wu Yifan who is a young Chinese painter endowed with a sensitive and growing sensibility within western her studio praxis of oil painting. More specifically, in his painting titled Sprinkle Hydrochloric acid on the snow 2022, I noticed it contains brush marks laden with the fresh hues of the new greens of spring contrasting starkly with the sullen sombre grey’s tones of the environs. This dissonance creates a tension between hope and some kind of anxiousness which infuses the figure as she gazes back towards the viewer in a manner not dissimilar to that of the painting by Italian Renaissance master Giovanni Battista, Portrait of a Woman.

However, unlike Battatisa’s use of the female gaze Wu Yifan presents a darkly draped, beautiful young woman with a disquieting but expressionless gaze that opens up as her right hand appears to pull back the cloth of the hood, thus allowing her face and eye to focus on the viewer. Her stark juxtaposition of the recent new greens of foliage and blossom and the remnants of a cold, snowy winter in east Asia serve to create a warm backdrop in an otherwise cold room

Yet there seems to be a missing link in Wu Yifan’s painting. Maybe the woman wants love or the hope of it as the ear plug hangs limply down leaving the viewer to question whether she is taking it out or putting it in her ear to listen to music that may let the coming warmth spring into her heart? Whatever her future is, this painting represents a wonderfully poignant moment in image-making between the moments of a hope of love or its temporary loss.

After viewing Wu Yifan’s painting I moved on to view the many other works on show. There were many good artists and it was enjoyable to talk to the gallerists who had the same passion and drive as the artists. From my conversations, it was clear that these people were highly informed bilingually of the internationalities within the artists' praxis they represent, so a big cheer for them for a job well done.

I look forward to seeing next year’s art fair.

Peter Davidson