Summary
- AISHO Hong Kong is currently presenting Between Stillness by Japanese artist Wataru Ozu through October 3
- On view are seven paintings that blend the tradition of vanitas still life paintings with the Japanese concept of ma
Centuries before the decorative elegance of Japonisme took Europe by storm, a similar cross-cultural flow had already planted roots in Japan. When Western painting first hit Edo period trade routes, the works captured the attention of local artists, who put their own spin on these foreign techniques, culminating in a style called “youfuuga.”
This visual dialogue is the center focus of a new exhibition at AISHO gallery. For his first Hong Kong solo, Wataru Ozu brings this phenomenon into the present day. Fascinated by this East-West crossroads, the artist reframes artistic clashes as encounters of difference, and in doing so, posits a new kind of pictorial possibility.
Between Stillness renders vanitas still life tradition through a modern lens, while placing it in conversation with ma, the Japanese concept of space between objects, moments and ideas. Crowded assemblages of blankets, flowers and plates share tables with contemporary pop cultural icons — Hello Kitty, Miffy, Mickey Mouse among them — all punctured by thick outlines and laid atop soft-colored backdrops. Through this unique compositional approach, Ozu envisions ma not as a thing, but a state of being.
“For me, ma is not merely empty space. While it as a boundary connecting the space of painting with the space where viewers stand, it is also a place that gives breath to this relationship and brings both tension and relaxation to the painting. I understand ma as a state where one can choose whether to paint or not to paint, There is a fluctuation in this selection process, and I believe this very fluctuation gives richness to the painting.”
Between Stillness is now on view through October 3.
AISHO Hong Kong
Po Hing Mansion,
2-6 Wa Ning Ln,
Tai Ping Shan,
Hong Kong
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