ART GALLERIES > Ota Fine Arts

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TOMOKO KASHIKI, A Beast Hiding Treasure, 2013

Acrylic, ink, paper, linen, wooden panel 227 x 163 cm.Image courtesy of Ota Fine Arts.

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TOMOKO KASHIKI, Painting of Shells, 2013
Acrylic, tracing paper, wallpaper, pastel, pencil, linen, wooden panel 182 x 230 cm. Images courtesy of the artist and Ota Fine Arts.

Exhibition
Tomoko Kashiki
17 Jan 2014 - 02 Mar 2014

Opening reception in the presence of the artist: Friday, 17 January 2014 19.00-21.00

Ota Fine Arts presents a solo exhibition by Tomoko Kashiki, the artist’s debut in Singapore. Reminiscent of Heian Buddhist paintings and bijinga, traditional depictions of beautiful women, the painter's exquisite imaginings are derived from her original “poetic sentiment and emotion.” 

Created through an elaborate method of painting, sanding and finely carving the surface of the panel, then repainting layer over layer, these screens open up an intimate world that suspends Kashiki’s subjects between dreams and desires. This unique cumulative process has been honed – one could even say, fermented -- over the past few years, since her graduate training in painting at the renowned Kyoto City University of the Arts.

This reworking of multiple layers and washes is the physical articulation of Kashiki’s own impressions, images that flicker through her mind, the landscapes of her emotions and memories. In an interview with the Guardian, the artist explains, “I am perplexed by how these swinging emotions can change a painting – these changes can occur many times, and so the painting becomes multi-layered.”

Much like her wielding of the medium, Kashiki’s compositions are also structured with overlapping, receding facets. They supersede the conventions of three-dimensionality by bleeding into the surreal. Amongst the 6 paintings and 10 drawings in our exhibition, an exemplary work of this sort of commingling is Painting of Shell. The ceiling panels and floors of the studio melt into each other at incongruous angles, losing their texture to a watery glaze, as if the wood grains were transforming into waves upon a shore. These interior spaces where she often situates her women are indeed identifiable — the hallways, columns, windows, even electrical sockets provide the viewer clues in A Beast Hiding Treasure — but they depart from the quotidian, interlaced as they are by fabrics and water.

As a result, Tomoko Kashiki’s rendering of her central female figures allows them to become just as fluid, organic and sensual, hovering between everyday reality and a translucent daydream. This January, we invite viewers to immerse themselves in this intuitive world she has divulged with us.

Ota Fine Arts
7 Lock Road, #02-13, Gillman Barracks, Singapore 108935

Ota Fine Arts was established in 1994 in the Ebisu area in Tokyo. For 16 years, the gallery has defined itself as being a pioneer of Japanese contemporary art. Since its inception, Ota Fine Arts has promoted various Japanese artists, including internationally acclaimed Yayoi Kusama.

Opening hours:
Tue to Sat 11am-7pm
Sun 11am-6pm
Closed on Mondays & Public holidays

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