I visited the opening day of Naoya Inose’s first solo exhibition “Blue.” This is his first solo exhibition, coming “10 years” after his debut.
The inclusion of past works in this first solo show is partly because his output has not been large, and partly because it serves as a way to sort through the past ten years of his practice.
I visited during the opening on the first day and had the chance to hear the artist talk with Junji Ito as a guest.
He has already spent 8 years in the UK, and the talk of about an hour focused mainly on stories from overseas, including comparisons with the state of art in Japan. In addition to his artist activities, he is also developing a new artist-in-residence project in Malta, and appears to be energetically broadening the scope of his work.
The works on view range from a 2010 piece to his newest 2018 works, with the balance tilted toward the newest 2018 pieces. Below is an introduction to the exhibited works. I highly recommend seeing Naoya Inose’s works in person; they combine minutely detailed depiction that photographs cannot reproduce with an overwhelming presence.
The 2010 work is an homage to Thomas Cole, “THE COURSE OF EMPIRE: Desolation-Modern (Homage to Cole).” A magnificent large-scale piece.
Inose remarked something like “when I was younger I had eyesight and stamina,” but one is overwhelmed by his detailed representational power.
“OVER STAGE9 OVER” depicts the world of “Stage 9,” the buggy stage in the game “Super Mario Bros.” It has a realism that makes you feel a live-action Mario could appear.
He remarked, “Things that feel buggy — things without a correct answer — are the most interesting.”
He also said “the canvas should have strong tension” so that it can respond to fine, precise brushstrokes — and the details of the work bear this out with delicate, exquisite precision.
Unusual works such as “The beginning of the world” were also on view.
This piece is said to have been painted in about two days.
Besides these, works that look like nothing more than lines drawn with a brush were also present; his remark that “there are also many works I can’t show anyone” left an impression.
The exhibition also includes works that challenge painterly conventions, forming a rich space in which a wide range of paintings are lined up.
In the exhibition space, small abstract works from the “Abstract paintings” series — imitating color bars — are placed like an installation.
“Polylith into the blue,” used as the main visual for this exhibition, is a work characteristic of Inose, with its striking, dazzling blue. The “Abstract paintings” are arranged alongside it — an installation that unifies the space.
The work uses “aluminum” as its support — a material he has been using since this year — giving it a cold texture.
The spatial composition of the work is superb. The distinctive peculiarity of Inose’s motifs is said to come at real creative cost, with compositions built up from many sketches. His remark that the series of blues came from a color he saw in a dream was also memorable.
The above were the works on view on opening day.
The two-month run seems likely to include a rehang, and I was also given a special preview of new works.
Although he speaks of “10 years as a painter,” he is still a young artist of 30.
He works internationally, and it is unknown when his next solo in Japan will be — so I recommend visiting this once-only, precious “first solo exhibition.”
Sales have been strong, with almost all works sold early on opening day, indicative of his popularity.
He is a young, talented, must-watch artist going forward!
Summary
- Naoya Inose’s first solo exhibition
- A culmination of 10 years of practice — a retrospective mixing past and new works
- Also includes previously unshown abstract paintings and tableaux
- A wide range from large-scale works to small pieces
- Free admission
