| EN |

Natsuko IMAZU, Solo Exhibition
Reviews
Written by Satoshi KOGANEZAWA   
Published: June 11 2009

fig. 1 view from Natsuko Imazu, solo exhibition at GALLERY b.TOKYO, courtesy of the artist, copyright © Natsuko IMAZU

fig. 2 view from Natsuko Imazu, solo exhibition at GALLERY b.TOKYO, courtesy of the artist, copyright © Natsuko IMAZU

fig. 3 "Air" (2009); oil painting, 130.3cm×162.1cm, courtesy of the artist, copyright © Natsuko IMAZU

fig. 4 "A Small World” (2009); oil painting, 162.0cm×194.0cm, courtesy of the artist, copyright © Natsuko IMAZU

     Soil and water, and flowers which live in them [fig. 1][fig. 2] - Natsuko Imazu depicts common scenes which we often see in our daily lives. Indeed, her works can be described by using words such as “realistic” or “look like photographs”, but they give us so appealing an impression that they cannot be expressed by using these words alone. Looking at her works closely, we can find that a veil, which we could call a “common image”, which covers her works gradually falls away and an unknown image then appears. In other words, the objects drawn in her works are not common things, though she depicts ordinary locations.

     For example, let me introduce her work entitled “Air” (oil painting, 130.3cm×162.1cm, 2009) [fig. 3]. In this work, Imazu depicts a surface of water, soil and some kind of new plant that is sparsely distributed over the water surface. These growths have a fresh image for me because they were drawn carefully and appear as natural as if they were really on flowing water. One of the reasons I have such an image of this work may be that the composition makes us feel as if we have just discovered the scene depicted in the work and we are now looking it from directly above. Another work named “A Small World” (oil painting, 162.0cm×194.0cm, 2009) [fig. 4] was also created in the same composition as “Air”. In this work, Imazu has boldly attempted to put bristle grasses in the foreground, which creates the impression that the viewer is standing in front of the scene depicted in the work and looking it through the narrow spaces between these grasses.

     When standing in front of her painting I am the only viewer who is now looking at the scene it depicts. In other words, this work makes me feel that I am the only witness of this small world, where butterflies are sucking nectar from flowers, fallen leaves are floating on the surface of water and rain is rippling on the water surface. Most of Imazu’s works were created using the motif of dark-colored water, which effectively draws me into the world expressed in her works. Her paintings are extremely appealing for me because she directs her gaze both at small objects at the level of animals and plants, and also huge motifs, namely, nature, which includes all of these small objects. Simply stated, it is animism. Imazu’s works show that she does not revere God or Buddha but recognizes the existence of the soul and spirit in all things in nature.

     I suppose that in Japan today, the most successful person to bring the concept of animism into his creations is Hayao Miyazaki, the animator. The main theme of the movie “Princess Mononoke” (Studio Ghibli, 1997), which was directed by Miyazaki, is the conflict between humanity and nature. In this movie, the forest is considered as a place where God lives and nature is depicted as something which is generated from the two human feelings about nature, awe and respect. Not only in “Princess Mononoke” but in all his films, Miyazaki places emphasis on depicting humanity and nature on the same level of things. In this way, Miyazaki’s perspective seems to be similar to the concept of Imazu’s creations. Therefore, I expect that at some time in the future, Imazu will succeed in expressing the horror or the fierceness of nature, which we cannot find in her current works.

     There seems to be a big difference between Imazu’s work and so-called modern art works. Nevertheless, this difference does not imply that Imazu’s works are of low quality. What I find in her drawings is a high quality effusion of her animism, which reminds me of works created by two of her forerunners, Yajuro Takashima (1890-1975), an oil painter, and Heihachiro Fukuda (1892-1974), a Japanese style painter. Both these artists have left us works which reflect their excellent perspective on nature. I appreciate that Takashima and Fukuda exercised their power of expression more effectively than those of modern artists, who often unashamedly present a low level of self-expression that is quite undistinguished. Imazu is still young and relatively inexperienced, since she was born in 1984 and finished her master’s degree program in a fine arts major including a painting course at the Graduate School of Art and Design, Musashino Art University in March 2009, so I hope that she will pursue her own ideas without getting tripped up by current fashions.
(Translated by Nozomi Nakayama)

Related Exhibition

Natsuko IMAZU, Solo Exhibition
25/May/2009 - 30/May/2009
Venue: GALLERY b.TOKYO

Last Updated on July 05 2010
 

| EN |