Hisashi Tenmyouya’s "Furyu—Extravagant"
Mizuma Art Gallery newly opened Ichigaya location is featuring a selection of recent works by Hisashi Tenmyouya—a Neo Nihonga painter who brings together traditional Japanese art and contemporary Western aesthetic (including Hip Hop). Tenmyouya’s elegant, extravagant and elaborate designs show the familiar Edo warrior images through a prism of anachronistically hip drama. This, of course, only adds to the well-rehearsed complexity—the five paintings based on Musashi’s “Book of Five Rings” strike a perfect balance of pattern and narrative. The dynamic bombast of the figures is almost Baroque, and the effect is amplified by stereoscopic finish of the works. All the objects on view are mixed media, combining acrylic, gold leaf, fabrics and wood. There is tension in Tenmyouya: the scale, bold designs, even the works’ placement in the galleries stand poised to overwhelm. Yet the threat never materializes because for all their elegance and extravagance his paintings remain decoratively hermetic.
The exhibition will be on through the end of January.
That looks like a lovely exhibit! I might just have to have a look at it before it closes. This is Ben by the way, whom you met on the airplane back to Narita the other day. My blog is nothing as fancy or professional as this one, it's more of a personal lark. Anyhow, keep up the great work!!