Nowfu Gendai
I went to Yukimasa Ida’s solo exhibition “Banquet,” held in Gifu, far from Tokyo.
His solo exhibition in the UK, held just before this, was reportedly a great success, but this is his only solo show in Japan in 2017. It seems he had a prior connection through taking part in group exhibitions, and that connection led to this solo show.
I visited right before the exhibition closed. I had wanted to see the work list in advance, but the gallery owner, who spoke with me on the phone, said, “We get a lot of inquiries like that, but since we really want people to see the works in person, we don’t send it out.” So I decided to take the plunge and go.
Yukimasa Ida Exhibition “Banquet”
The Gifu gallery, which took about two and a half hours to reach from Tokyo. After greeting the owner, I set off right away to look around the exhibits.
Looking at the posted list, many of the works had already been purchased. However — perhaps because few visitors come to a gallery in Gifu — about 30% of the remaining works had yet to find an owner. As a collector, I was very lucky.
The Works
From small works smaller than size 0 to major works of size 100, just the right number of pieces — fitting the gallery space well — were on display.
At the same time, because sales were going extremely well, several works had been prepared to coincide with the exhibition, and a few of them were not yet fully dry. The rich scent of oil paint also felt like part of the staging — pleasant, in fact.
Now, when you step through the entrance of the gallery “Nowfu Gendai,” you are immediately greeted by two colorful, profound works titled “End of Today〜Flower.” Ida’s distinctive painting-knife touch dances freely across the canvas.
Further in is the major work “Banquet,” whose title also comes from a classic. Despite its classical flavor, the green accent color so characteristic of Ida seems to rewind it toward a fresh image, tightening the whole work.
In the spacious area, portrait paintings were beautifully arranged.
In any case, the distinctive brushwork, color scheme, and compositional power of his oil paintings are magnificent — a genius!
There were other works like this, too… It seems to be modeled on a butcher’s shop.
His range of expressive power in painting human faces is fathomlessly impressive.
A realistic yet charming little pig😀
Postcard-sized small works, said to be part of “painting 1,000 faces.”
As you gaze straight at them, then from the side, then up close, you trip into a sensation of the work gradually changing. The smallest of these is priced at 30,000 yen — an easily approachable price.
The work to the left of the small pieces is “Withered Flower.” Seen up close, it is three-dimensional, almost like a sculpture, with a sense of sexiness. It is a work with an intense painted surface. To the right was “MIKO 2016,” a work depicting his wife. His wife is an artist named Miko Hara.
Summary
I was able to encounter a great many truly wonderful works.
Just when you think a touch feels violent, almost mad, it also contains delicate use of color and matière, sending a thrill through you. There were also works with high drawing skill, densely rendered, and I could see his artistic muscle at every turn. He reportedly entered the art university after three years as a rōnin and still holds a place in graduate school, but the power to complete such overwhelming works at the young age of 28 makes me sense his promise. *He has already completed his studies.
As the gallery owner said, “It’s been a while since I’ve been bathed in the smell of oil, and it made me happy,” his approach of freely wielding oil paint to create in an age dominated by acrylics makes even us, the viewers, feel joyful.
The half-dry works, their freshly applied paint not yet set, felt as if they moved with the breath of new life.
It was a solo exhibition that made me feel, from the bottom of my heart, that making the long journey from Tokyo was truly worth it.
