Tomio Koyama Gallery Tokyo - Kyoto | TKG Ceramics | TKG Editions Kyoto

» Introduction:

In his paintings, Yutaka Watanabe reconstructs the pieces of visual memories in the space that embraces the existence of something invisible. In the OO-PARTS series, which was exhibited at 4th Fuchu Biennale in 2008, structures such as concrete and walls, and the figures that resembled tree branches and looked as if they were standing up like creatures, were situated in the opening that suddenly appeared after a residence had been removed. Watanabe states, "I grew up in Tokyo surrounded by manmade things, accepting the world I saw in front of me on TV as reality, preferring artificially colored food to natural food, and fascinated by supernatural phenomena, ghosts, monsters, unexplained occurrences, and the riddles of the ancients. Within the ordered life, I feasted my eyes on an overflowing chaos of colors and information, and this past has become the foundation of my painting." (Excerpted from the Fuchu Biennial catalog)
The past he referred to has become each element within a painting, and there emerges an unfamiliar space filled with reality and fiction. Idiosyncratic colors seem to invite us to this unfamiliar space. Watanabe states, "I believe that reconstruction of my memories would induce reconstruction of a viewer's reality." (Excerpted from the Fuchu Biennial catalog) His statement reminds us that confusion we feel in front of his works leads to the expansion of imagination.

» Concept:

This exhibition mainly features the paintings that were exhibited in a solo exhibition "Colors of Reverb, Shapes of Air", with which he referred to something one can openly imagine. In this exhibition, Watanabe presented his new medium; sculptural works employing artifacts. For Watanabe, the sculptures, created with the given colors and forms, are like drawing for painting. The exhibition also features the recent paintings created since then.

» Artist Biography:

Yutaka Watanabe was born in Tokyo in 1981. In 2005, he graduated from Musashino Art University's College of Art and Design (painting).
In 2007, he received an M.F.A. in painting at the same university. In 2008, he was selected to participate "WONDER SEEDS" (held at Tokyo Wonder Site Shibuya). He participated in "4th Fuchu Biennial 'True Colors: Adventures of Colors'" (Fuchu Art Museum, Tokyo) in 2008, and "Mont Blanc Young Artist Patronage in Japan" (Mont Blanc GINZA, Tokyo) in 2009. He held a solo exhibition at Itakura-onsen Daikokuya. This is his second solo exhibition, following a group exhibition in 2008 and a solo exhibition in 2009 at Tomio Koyama Gallery.