Yoshitaka Nanjo "Climbing Mount Fuji"

Yukari Art Mini

Finished

Artists

Yoshitaka Nanjo

Yoshitaka Nanjo uses a unique method, making use of the "earth" from his subjects to produce paintings of them. The artists walks through varied landscapes, cities and mountains, at the boundary where nature transforms itself into scenery, and the border where nature approaches the condition of pure material or substance. He analyzes the color of his materials objectively in order to select an appropriate landscape from his chosen location. He then collects earth from that location. Although he draws his chosen landscape on a canvas, this is not a simple act of delineation. The artist's bold vision, sometimes teetering on the brink of imbalance and immoderation, is evident in the elements that go into the work. The earth that he has collected in situ from his chosen location is then layered onto the canvas, reconfiguring the single surface of his painting to the point where it becomes a sort of natural history specimen cabinet.

The title of the exhibition, "Climbing Mount Fuji," references the fervent pilgrimages that the common people would make to this mountain during the Edo period. The canvases in this exhibition showcase the unique landscapes discovered by Nanjo on his travels, from the views of Suruga Bay and Tagonoura at sea level, to Fujinomiyaguchi and the Kengamine rim of the volcano, at the peak of Fuji some 3776m above sea level.

Schedule

Mar 22 (Sat) 2008-Apr 27 (Sun) 2008