3331 ART FAIR 2019
Ever since seeing his work at the Tokyo University of the Arts graduate school degree show, I have been captivated by Ryo Kawada’s still lifes, and he has been one of my favorite artists.
Convinced that he is one of the most talented young painters with genuine technical command, I was very much looking forward to seeing what kind of works he would show at the busy 3331 Art Fair.
What defied my expectations — in the best sense — were three still lifes depicting the same motif: 《Vanitas (Magnoria)》, 《Vanitas (Magnoria2)》, and 《Vanitas (Magnoria3)》.
Ryo Kawada also paints many portraits, but I have been particularly drawn to his still lifes.
So this three-work display had me utterly thrilled, and I spent a considerable amount of time simply looking at them.
You may not fully grasp this work without seeing it in person.
Each piece stands as its own distinct work.
Even the supports themselves are made of different materials, giving each canvas a completely different surface.
What makes Ryo Kawada’s still lifes so compelling is, above all, their “sense of air.”
Not merely capturing a scene at rest, they let the viewer (myself) feel the tactile quality of the air softly stirring within the canvas. These are works that make you sense phenomena unfolding beyond the frame of the canvas itself.
In that atmosphere — as if sensing the presence of something — a shivering, prickling sensation takes hold.
Here is truly “the painterly skill to depict even the wavering air itself.”
“Whose room is this, and who is in it?”
“Why paint three works of the same composition with the same motif?”
“By changing the size and support, what did he wish to express?”
“Why arrange the three works in exactly this positional relationship?”
… I wanted to put these questions and other curiosities about the works directly to Kawada himself, but sadly did not have the chance.
An artist of rich expressive power who captures not merely the interplay of light and shadow, but something else that lies within.
