Yutaka Hatta "Sound and Vision"

Kanda & Oliveira

Finished

Artists

Yutaka Hatta

This exhibition will showcase approximately 20 pieces, focusing not only on carving works but also on drawing works created relying on auditory and tactile senses, as well as works using mulberry paper related to Echizen's local industry.

Born in Fukui Prefecture in 1930, Yutaka Hatta graduated from the Kanazawa College of Art and Crafts (now Kanazawa College of Art) after World War II and created while working as a teacher until his 50s. Despite being located far from the center in Fukui, he has been actively involved in cultural movements originating from Fukui, such as the "Hokubi" art movement, while engaging in his artwork.

While seeking his expression rather than following European influences, Hatta underwent a self-revolution at the age of 30, burning canvases and brushes and abandoning oil painting to reach carving works that engrave. The design effects created by the overlapping circles give a sense of solemnity, and the warmth felt from the material texture and the traces of handiwork upon closer inspection have become representative of Hatta's expression.

However, after losing his sight due to illness in his 50s and giving up on creating, he faced a period where he had to quit teaching as well. But he picked up paintbrushes again and started drawing relying on the flow of sound. Hatta says he has learned to see with his hands since losing his eyesight. He began to create works using local industries such as washi paper, the raw material of mulberry trees, pasted on canvases or boards. Hatta did not choose paper for its texture but to highlight the environment and industry surrounding artwork production, a foundation that is not visible from the artist's creation perspective. To liberate the material of washi paper, accustomed to traditional usage, from its tradition, he ended up with mulberry, which can only be obtained locally.

Many of the titles of his works after losing his sight include the word "flow," which Hatta says refers not to the visual flow received from the artwork but to the "flow" of life itself. His support in the flow of life is the exchange of hearts. Faced with the despair of his blindness after the deaths of his mentors and comrades, Hatta, who stared into the impermanence, seeks eternity in the propagation of his philosophy.

On April 6th (Saturday) from 1:00 p.m. during the exhibition period, there will also be an event with Yutaka Hatta and Tsutomu Nagamiya (curator of the Ibaraki Prefecture Tenshin Memorial Uraura Art Museum).

Schedule

Mar 16 (Sat) 2024-Apr 20 (Sat) 2024