Tomokazu Matsuyama “WESTBUND 2019”
We visited the international art fair “West Bund Art & Design” held in Shanghai.
At the booth of the exhibiting gallery KOTARO NUKAGA, works by the internationally acclaimed artist Tomokazu Matsuyama were presented in a solo-exhibition format.
Tomokazu Matsuyama is a Japanese artist based in New York.
While drawing his motifs from fashion magazine models, interiors, and quotations from traditional Japanese painting and modern Western painting, and thus offering no originality of subject matter itself, he produces works of such a distinctive character that they can be recognized as Matsuyama’s at a single glance.
By “quoting” and “editing” existing originalities, he generates a new originality.
His distinctive work titles are said to be drawn directly from song lyrics and applied to the works as they are.
The works were almost entirely sold. Large paintings were priced at around 8 million yen, and the sculpture at around 15 million yen — a marked increase from a few years ago. Even the smallest work in the image below carries a price of around 1.5 million yen.
Since being featured on the television program “Jonetsu Tairiku,” inquiries have been pouring in, and most of the buyers were Japanese (according to the gallerist).
At the venue, the works drew considerable attention from visitors, many of whom took photos on their smartphones. Attention from young women in particular seemed especially notable.
Anchored by a sculpture — unusual for Matsuyama — and composed alongside large abstract and figurative paintings, this exhibition offered a superb viewing environment.
A sculpture is currently in production for a public space at Shinjuku Station in Tokyo. This too is something to look forward to.
Shinjuku Station Public Art, Tokyo (2020)
An 8-meter-tall sculpture assembled from 316 pieces of stainless steel is set to emerge from a ground covered in floral patterns.
For this project, at Shinjuku Station — bustling with businesspeople and tourists — the artist will combine the traditional Japanese aesthetic of “kachou-fuugetsu” (the beauty of nature and the seasons) with the site.
Unveiled in the year of the “Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games,” this installation is set to become a new landmark of Tokyo.
