Takeshi Tanaka, “Metaphor of Flowers, Metaphor of Storms”
Takeshi Tanaka is a Japanese-style painter I have featured on this site more than once — a personal favorite.
The deftness of his compositions, the surprising choice of motifs, and the vitality of his rendering make his work stir the collector’s spirit through its sheer depth.
He was again a nominated artist at VOCA 2019, and I visited with anticipation. For the other exhibited works at VOCA 2019, see below.
The work Takeshi Tanaka exhibited at VOCA 2019 is a large piece titled “Metaphor of Flowers, Metaphor of Storms.”
He is often associated with figures and animals as central motifs, so a canvas filled to the edges with blooming carnations was strikingly beautiful — and rather unexpected.
* For me it was a slightly surprising work in that the motif was one I had not seen from him before.
The bursting petals seem to signify something, and even the greyish, non-blue sky in the background speaks of an unsettling state.
Stems rise straight from what look like sandbags of contaminated soil, blooming across the whole scene.
Look closely and, in the lower part of the picture, you can make out the image of a moon.
This is quintessential Takeshi Tanaka — an approach that digests classical masterpieces of Japanese art through a distinctly contemporary sensibility. You can see how the moon sinks into the grass in a way that pays homage to the “Musashino-zu Byobu” (Musashino Screen).
It is a major work drawing inspiration from Maruyama Okyo’s “Seven Misfortunes and Seven Blessings,” and based on Ryohei Koiso’s “Chorus” and the memorial to the 26 Martyrs of Japan, “Prayer of Ascension.”
Takeshi Tanaka’s work leaves a strong impression through its citation of historic artworks and its interweaving of satire and warnings about contemporary society.
As with “Chorus — The Song of the Sacred Seven,” there is real skill in the way he treats the issue of nuclear power with a light, almost casual touch.
His VOCA 2019 piece “Metaphor of Flowers, Metaphor of Storms” carries forward the fundamental concepts of his past work while stepping up into new territory.
Comment from the artist, Takeshi Tanaka:
“This time my aim was to make a work without using figures or animals as motifs, the way I had in my previous large-scale pieces.
Depicting the current state of nuclear power is not to critique nuclear power itself — it is one way of confirming for myself the situation in which I find myself in this country.
As long as the black-pyramid sandbags keep multiplying on this land, I will keep painting the sequel to this picture.”
I plan to keep watching Takeshi Tanaka’s evolution with my own eyes.
