I had the good fortune of having my portrait painted by Kosuke Ajiro, an art-artist I love.
This was a program held during Kosuke Ajiro’s solo exhibition “attic” at the Kiyosumi-Shirakawa gallery “ondo STAY & EXHIBITION.”
It took place on January 13, 2019, during the run of the exhibition.
Only three slots were available—a narrow gate—but I fortunately secured one and went on the day.
*Applications were taken via a first-come, first-served online entry form.
We began with a simple self-introduction and started once everything was ready.
Ajiro laid paints, brushes, and a paper plate (as a palette-substitute) out on the desk, pulling them from his bag.
This time the format was to paint inside a frame made from stone-powder clay on a wooden panel, and I was able to choose whichever frame I liked.
I chose a blackish frame trimmed with gold ornaments.
He had previously done a very Ajiro-like project called “paint the model’s previous life,” but this was his first time painting portraits. We began with no clear sense of how things would turn out.
Even for small works he normally spends a great deal of time, and given it was his first attempt at this project, we started with a generous “two-hour” slot.
*In the end, including preparation, it took exactly two hours.
He first asked me what I wanted for the work, but since I love Ajiro’s worldview no matter how he interprets it, I left everything entirely up to him.
There wasn’t much for me to do as the model, but since I was curious about his method, I observed with great interest how he used his paints and how he moved his brush.
He shared various things during the interludes: that he did not attend an art university but a design vocational school, his time working at a design company, his love of Munch and Rousseau, the house he lives in, and so on.
Fine brushwork here, rubbing the support with dry tissue there—even for a small work he stacked up many steps, and that came across to me. Alongside the finely detailed, careful labor, there were moments when his brush swept broadly across the whole surface. I was able to share the time it takes for a single work to reach completion.
He asked me several times, “Aren’t you tired?”—kindly considerate—but watching him was so enjoyable that the time flew by.
He attached a metal hook, added his signature and the date—finished!
The portrait’s conceit, he told me, is that of “the king of a neighboring country” within the world unfolding in the exhibition.
It feels awkward to say it about myself, but I was startled by how well it resembled me.
In real life I keep myself cleanly shaven, but he explained that “the image of a beard fit” and finished it that way. Was it that my face is bland enough that he wanted to add a beard? I don’t know the truth, but he says an image forms in his mind before he paints, and he heads toward completion accordingly.
What do you think? As the person who was painted, I love it immensely!
The texture is superb, and the red of the crown, the white hair and white beard, all match the color of the frame—it’s a truly wonderful work.
What surprised me most that day was that throughout the 90-minute production, he faced the work without a single break.
He did not once reach for the plastic bottle of tea sitting there, keeping his brush in motion from beginning to end. His concentration was formidable.
The work itself of course, but I also felt as if I had become one of the characters inhabiting Ajiro’s works—and in that sense too, this was a joyful program.
Thank you, Kosuke Ajiro.
Summary
It became a truly favorite piece of mine, carrying the worldview only Kosuke Ajiro can convey.
- A delicate brush hand and a careful painting style.
- An artist who takes time on his works. *Even a tiny work took 90 minutes!
- Concentration to face the work without a single break during production.
- Kind, considerate, and a truly wonderful person.
Oh, and to all Ajiro fans! Starbucks’ current regional tumbler line “Japan Geography Series”—those are Kosuke Ajiro’s works. Just between us…
Overview
Kosuke Ajiro Solo Exhibition “atti”
Venue: ondo STAY & EXHIBITION
Dates: January 9 (Wed) – January 20 (Sun), 2019. *Closed Tuesdays.
Hours: 12:00–19:00
*Final day until 17:00
*Open on January 14 (Mon, national holiday)
■OPENING RECEPTION 1/12 (Sat) from 17:00
■EVENT: Small Portraits Date: Sunday, January 13, 2019
Times: (1) from 13:00 (2) from 15:00 (3) from 17:00 (each session about 2 hours)
Capacity: 1 person per session Fee: 8,000 yen + tax Booking: advance reservation required (first-come, first-served)
*Scheduled to travel to ondo, tosabori (Osaka) from January 24, 2019 (Thu).
