We are glad to announce Kenji Shibata's third one person show at taguchi fine art during above period.

Kenji Shibata was born in Niigata prefecture in 1971 and now resides in Moriya, Ibaraki. Completed postgraduate Studies in Oil Painting Course at Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music in 1998. Since his first one person show in 1997, Shibata has been presenting his works in several one person shows in and around Tokyo and some group shows as "Fiction ? - Painting in the Age of the Virtual" at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo in 2002 or "Attempt" at Museum Haus Kasuya,Yokosuka in 2007.

"Flat painting like a mirror"

Ever since he was studying at university, Shibata has been creating abstract monochrome paintings which could be said to be orthodox at a glance. They are composed with delicate colors and distinguished by those smooth and shiny surface like mirror. There produced a subtle sign of red or blue color absorbed in dark brown, dark gray or dark green color which is dominant in his paintings. Recently he also creates paintings in bright red color and bright blue color. Sometimes viewer can feel certain depth, light, images like scenery or illusion. His beautiful paintings full of calmness,with high completeness and feeling of tension, attract the viewer very much.

"Throwing dice"

The titles of his works are numbers chosen randomly by throwing dice. Shibata hit upon this method when he began thinking that his works could not be ranked, that they are all equal.

"Painting as a film"

The attempt by Shibata is to investigate the breaking point where painting can stand up as a painting, while he restraining the elements or condition that have been forming painting until now - color, form, composition, brush stroke or illusion or even title as much as possible. He persists in smoothness/ flatness as seen in the surface of western traditional painting, operating brushes in order to bring about a sense of depth bouncing our eyes at a certain point. It can be said that it is a trial to reduce a painting to the horizon of its genesis, namely plane/ two dimensions characteristics as a thin film. And nothing but his awareness of the difficulty to create such an abstract painting in the present age gives his works such a strength and feeling of tension.

"ANKOKU - Darkness as the Vision"

The title of this show, "ANKOKU" is taken from a poem by Daisuke Fujiwara who is a close friend to Shibata. Good artwork always has something which viewer cannot completely understand. However, such mysterious character only can make the work attractive since it requires more concentration and more seriousness from viewers. In this situation, which Fujiwara calls ANKOKU, our vision shall be keen and sensitive. Paintings by Shibata have such mysterious quality.