GLOBAL COLLECTORS ART PRIZE | MASTERS DEFINING THE FUTURE OF ART

Biography

I was born in Tokyo in 1949. My father was very fond of painting, and when I was little, he often took me along when he went to a nearby park or to the ruins of an old dam on the nearby river.

My mother was a very hard worker with a feisty temperament, very diligent, and extremely fond of animals. I believe I inherited my father's talent for painting and my mother's sunny but feisty temperament.

When I was five, I went to a nearby field to catch insects with my best friend from next door. I was chasing butterflies in grass that grew higher than our heads, and I couldn't see where we were going. I lost my footing and fell into a river flowing about five meters below. When I called out for help, my mouth filled with water and I could not speak. As I began to lose consciousness, I could see the blue sky through the water. This is my first vivid memory. I was saved by a man who was nearby. I had narrowly escaped death.

I have suffered from gastrointestinal diseases since I entered junior high school. When I was in my second year of high school, I weighed less than 30 kg.

I was attending a technical high school that did not suit me, could not eat the foods I liked, and was restricted in many ways. I felt somehow resigned to my life being short; there seemed little to hope for. The only thing that saved me was my mother's strong love for her son.

When I entered art university, love, friendship, illness, death, dignity, respect, passion, indulgence, music, thought, and artistic principles mingled and exploded, and these days became strongly etched in my mind. I moved suddenly from illness to youth. Every day was fun and exciting, and for the first time I felt happy and free, and I thought this was something that would last forever.

Time passed like a storm. Since then, I have been spellbound by the shadow of those memories. I believe that the concept of death that I have felt since my illness, and the memories of youth burned into my mind, are the two things that dominate the roots of my painting.

When I was 28, I happened to meet Mr. Yoshii Chozo, President of the Yoshii Gallery. This led to my holding a solo exhibition at a small gallery in Kyobashi. At a solo exhibition, I was introduced to the president of the Française Collection, and for the first time, I received a commission to create a fruit portfolio titled "Nature." At the same gallery, I was introduced to Tatsuo Shimizu, then President of Magazine House, and was fortunate enough to hold my first solo exhibition at Takashimaya Osaka. This was the start of my relationship with Takashimaya.

Olympic gold medalist Mr. Tomiyama Hideaki, President of the Japan Wrestling Association, who was introduced to me by a sports official, is an indispensable person in my life. I was also fortunate to establish several new relationships in Japan around this time. In 2009, I was introduced to Yokozuna Hakuho through Mr. Tomiyama and was asked to design his ceremonial apron. The ring-entering ceremony in which Yokozuna Hakuho, accompanied by two attendant wrestlers, wore the completed sash was televised many times. I always watched this ceremony with excitement.

Mr. Yoshii dealt with many talented painters and cultural figures. His views on paintings were keen and frank, and from time to time I am reminded that there was no one else like him and that he truly understood the essence of my paintings.

In 2002, I held my first solo exhibition at the Yoshii Gallery in Paris. As a result, "Twelve Monkey Haiku" was published by the Réunion des Musées Nationaux. These works formed part of my second solo exhibition in 2004, and a limited edition of the book was offered at the bookstores of the Louvre and the Guimet Museum. Seeing the book displayed in the windows of the most prestigious Parisian bookstores was like a dream. For this reason, President Chirac invited Mr. Chozo Yoshii and me to the Élysée Palace, where we enjoyed a dinner.

I could not have arranged international solo exhibitions by myself, but with the help of many friends and extraordinary support from Mr. Tani, who is well versed in international matters, I was able to hold the Paris exhibitions of 2002 and 2004 and the New York exhibition of 2021 during the pandemic.

This solo exhibition in New York began with the 2018 LA Art Show. This led me to participate in art fairs in New York, Southampton, Miami, Austria, France, Monaco, Switzerland, and Germany. Since then, my work has been featured in art books from Italy, Spain, and other countries.

Since 1990, my solo exhibition at Takashimaya has been held every year at two to as many as six stores across Japan. I consider my relationship with Takashimaya to be the most fortunate relationship in my life as a painter.

Since the Takashimaya Archive was established in 1970, thanks to the efforts of former Takashimaya Art Department Director Kazuo Nakazawa, my solo exhibition became the first by an active artist to be held there.

In 2010, the Sasakawa Peace Foundation published "The Beginning of Space" for the Middle East. As a result, Mr. Abdullah Aziz, a member of the royal family of Ajman in the UAE and President of Green Sheikh Academy, and Mr. Amin Pakhtear, former Minister of Human Rights in Iraq, came to the exhibition venue.

At present, I am uncertain whether I paint to live or live to paint. Yet, for me, painting is akin to water in the scorching desert sun, quenching my parched throat. I hope that I can continue my journey in search of the unknown X in the picture that cannot be solved even if I live for another 100 years, until I cross to the other side.

Artist Statement

From January 11 to February 26, 2024, I held a retrospective exhibition at the Takashimaya Historical Museum in Osaka. The media coverage was extensive, and I was grateful for the large number of visitors who came to see my work. In Japan, just as I felt I had reached a turning point within myself, I was very grateful to be given such an opportunity at a time when I was thinking about this.

I believe I will continue painting until the moment I die. In my twenties, I experienced friendship, respect, passionate love, music, aestheticism, intense darkness, anxiety, illness, death, conflict, and anger. During that time, I felt a connection to God and had new discoveries every day. It was a stimulating, free, and happy period.

As time flowed like wind pushing clouds, I realized that those moments were unique to that time - my youth. Since then, while being haunted by memories of those enjoyable times, I have continued to paint. Even if I paint a hundred or a thousand pieces, each one surpasses past memories and gives me a sense of a new, first-time experience and a zest for life.

For me, painting is like water in a desert, quenching my thirst under the scorching sun. Whether I live to paint or paint to live, I constantly ask myself. The mysteries within my paintings are ones I probably won't solve even if I live for another hundred years. Every day, I hold my brush at a set time, hoping to get closer to those answers, even if just a little, in my remaining time.

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