Takao Ono
Lately, my fervor for Takao Ono simply will not cool down.
It all began when I was struck by the sheer brilliance of the works I saw at Miurajirou Gallery.
https://art-on.jp/takao-ono-miurajirou2018/
I contacted “Toki no Wasuremono,” a gallery that holds many of Takao Ono’s works, in advance and was allowed to view them.
Takao Ono’s works mean nothing at all if you only admire them in beautiful photographs and never see them with your own eyes. Nothing comes close to the overwhelming power of the originals.
“Memory of Painted Shadows: Takao Ono Exhibition — 30 Years of Activity in Italy”
There were several catalogs from the solo shows held at the gallery, and among them I obtained the catalog for “Memory of Painted Shadows: Takao Ono Exhibition — 30 Years of Activity in Italy,” held in 2008 at the Ikeda Museum of 20th Century Art (Ito, Shizuoka Prefecture).
It is a meticulously crafted catalog published under the editorial direction of the gallerist Reiko Odachi.
It also includes a conversation featuring Takao Ono himself with the art historian Tetsuo Kawai (the same age as Ono!), making it a substantial read as well.
Takao Ono is an artist who continues to paint, centering his work on portraiture. He lives in Italy and rarely comes to Japan, but he seems to still be actively painting. I hope he will hold another solo exhibition before long.
Overview
Takao Ono
Catalog of “Memory of Painted Shadows: Takao Ono Exhibition — 30 Years of Activity in Italy”
Published by: Ikeda Museum of 20th Century Art (Foundation)
Publication date: June 26, 2008
Specifications: A4 size, 76 pages (42 in color), 69 plates. Japanese and English text.
Texts: Shinichi Segi — “Takao Ono: A Conversation with Silence”
Masakatsu Ono — “Serenely Present There”
Masaki Higuchi — “On Reuniting with the People of «The Mortacchi Family»”
Conversation: Takao Ono × Tetsuo Kawai
Chronology, Bibliography
Editing: Reiko Odachi
Translation: Charles Worthen
Design: Toshihiko Kitazawa
