We visited Naoya Inose’s solo exhibition “Romantic Depression.” The venue was THE CLUB, a gallery located in GINZA SIX — the artist’s second exhibition there, following his debut solo show.
Naoya Inose “Romantic Depression”
For the previous solo exhibition, please see the article below.
Statement by Naoya Inose
Romantic Depression — the resonance of these contradictory words does not, at first, seem to make sense. Yet within me, these two things are situated in a close, intimate proximity. When I paint, I place great value on research. On a research trip I took to Iceland ahead of this exhibition, this very title flashed through my mind.
Under a gloomy, overcast sky, a vast field with no greenery. On top of a harsh climate, active volcanic activity has caused forests to dwindle, with volcanic ash and lava covering the ground. According to a report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, forests make up only 0.5% of Iceland’s land area. The absence of trees means the absence of vegetation that would prevent soil erosion and increase water retention.
Iceland, the world’s northernmost island nation, is said to be facing a widespread risk of desertification. And yet, in such landscapes I sense a certain romance. Apocalyptic scenery is a theme I often paint in my work, and Iceland was precisely such a strikingly real environment. That state of things also seems to resemble many people today. Depression, that most emblematic of modern illnesses, links directly to such landscapes. Something drained and difficult to regenerate; the sensation of a fogged-over mind. There is a landscape from which color has been drained.
Romantic landscape painting has always been linked with this melancholic quality. A representative artist is Caspar David Friedrich, whose silence-shrouded landscapes are painted with an extraordinary romanticism. Yet the artist himself is said to have suffered from depression — perhaps it is the interplay between the artist’s inner emptiness and the hope he finds within it that brings romance to the work.
I imagine many people today recognize such a sense of emptiness. I too am one of them, and I invite you to look at these works, in which that emptiness is filtered through me and made visual.
Exhibition view
The works on view had been arranged in sequence following a narrative constructed by Naoya Inose himself, so that the story unfolds from the piece by the entrance onward.
The narrative unfolds in order, from the work on the right to the one on the left.Naoya Inose, “Monolith 143 XI, Homage for Richard Diebekon,” 2020, acrylic, oil on canvas, 28×36 cm
The penguin, one of Inose’s signature motifs, is used as a symbolic icon of Inose himself (as a Japanese). The pool in front is said to be painted as an image of “Japan.”
Naoya Inose, “I trust you,” 2020, acrylic, oil on wooden panel, 40.7×51 cm
The penguin changes location and sets off into the world. The “monolith,” another signature motif, is also included.
The “monolith” refers to the pillar-like mysterious object that appears in Stanley Kubrick’s film series “2001: A Space Odyssey.”
Naoya Inose, “Melancholia,” 2020, oil, acrylic on aluminium panel, 40.1×60.1 cmNaoya Inose, “Chemical dream,” 2020, oil, acrylic on aluminium panel, 41×60 cm“Chemical dream” — Detail. The penguins wear tags, appearing as if they cannot escape their race or nationality.Naoya Inose, “Entrust you,” 2020, acrylic on wooden panel, 40.7×50 cm
“Romantic depression” is a large-scale work depicting the landscape of Iceland — the world’s northernmost island nation — which Inose visited on his research trip.
Exhibition viewNaoya Inose, “Romantic depression,” 2020, oil, acrylic on aluminium panel, 105.2×210 cm“Romantic depression” — Detail“Romantic depression” — Detail. Look closely and you can spot color bars!Exhibition viewLeft: Naoya Inose, “Noisy dream,” 2020, acrylic, oil on aluminium panel, 176×121 cm Right: Naoya Inose, “Color dream,” 2020, oil, alkyd on aluminum panel, 176×121 cm
Naoya Inose, “Dream scape- Iceberg –,” 2020, 400,000 JPY (Excluding tax), acrylic, oil on canvas, 25.5 x 20.4 cm (Framed 31.4 x 26.3 cm)Naoya Inose, “Dream scape – – Valley – ,” 2020, acrylic, oil on canvas, 25.5×20.4 cm (Framed 31.4×26.3 cm)Naoya Inose, “Dream scape – Atlas -,” 2020, acrylic, oil on canvas, 25.5×20.4 cm (Framed 31.4×26.3 cm)Naoya Inose, “Dream scape – Rock -,” 2020, acrylic, oil on canvas, 25.5×20.4 cm (Framed 31.4 x26.3 cm)Naoya Inose, “Dream scape – Silence -,” 2020, acrylic, oil on canvas, 25.5×20.4 cm (Framed 31.4×26.3 cm)
The show concluded with “Heaven,” a work that intermingles the color bars and static of vintage analog television broadcasts.
Naoya Inose, “Heaven,” 2020, oil on canvas, 20×25 cmNaoya Inose, “Ambient atlas,” 2020, acrylic, oil on canvas, 51×61 cm
Naoya Inose’s works carry a power that photographs cannot convey.
We hope you will make the opportunity to see them in person at the gallery.
Naoya Inose《Romantic Depression》
我们造访了 Naoya Inose 的个展《Romantic Depression》。展场是位于 GINZA SIX 的画廊 THE CLUB,也是继首次个展之后,艺术家在此举办的第二次个展。
浪漫主义风景画自古以来就与忧郁的特质紧密相连。Caspar David Friedrich 便是其中的代表画家,他那一系列被静谧所笼罩的风景作品充满了浪漫气息。然而据说画家本人却深受忧郁症之苦——或许正是艺术家身心中的空虚,以及在其中寻得的希望,为作品带来了浪漫。
我想很多现代人对这种空虚感都不陌生。我自己也是其中一员,我希望大家来看看这一系列将那份空虚透过我的滤镜加以视觉化的作品。
展场景象
本次展出的作品,是按照 Naoya Inose 本人所构想的故事,从入口处的作品开始依序推进的。
从右侧作品向左侧依次展开的故事线Naoya Inose《Monolith 143 XI , Homage for Richard Diebekon》2020 年 Acrylic, Oil on Canvas 28x36cm
展场景象Naoya Inose《Romantic depression》2020 年 Oil, Acrylic on Aluminium panel 105.2x210cm《Romantic depression》※Detail《Romantic depression》※Detail~仔细看的话,可以发现彩色测试条哦!展场景象左:Naoya Inose《Noisy dream》2020 年 Acrylic, Oil on Aluminium panel 176x121cm 右: Naoya Inose《Color dream》2020 年 Oil, Alkyd on Aluminum panel 176x121cm
Naoya Inose《Dream scape- Iceberg –》2020 400,000 JPY (Excluding tax) Acrylic, Oil on Canvas 25.5 x 20.4 cm (Framed 31.4 x 26.3 cm)Naoya Inose《Dream scape- – Valley – 》2020 年 Acrylic, Oil on Canvas 25.5×20.4cm (Framed 31.4×26.3 cm)Naoya Inose《Dream scape – Atlas -》2020 年 Acrylic, Oil on Canvas 25.5×20.4cm (Framed 31.4×26.3 cm)Naoya Inose《Dream scape – Rock -》2020 年 Acrylic, Oil on Canvas 25.5×20.4cm (Framed 31.4 x26.3cm)Naoya Inose《Dream scape – Silence -》2020 年 Acrylic, Oil on Canvas 25.5×20.4cm (Framed 31.4×26.3cm)
展览以《Heaven》收束——那是一件重现旧式模拟电视广播中彩色测试条与雪花杂讯交错景象的作品。
Naoya Inose《Heaven》2020 年 Oil on canvas 20x25cmNaoya Inose《Ambient atlas》2020 年 Acrylic, Oil on Canvas 51x61cm
Naoya Inose 的作品有着照片无法传达的震撼力。
诚挚建议大家亲临画廊观看。
Naoya Inose 〈Romantic Depression〉
Naoya Inose의 개인전 〈Romantic Depression〉을 찾았습니다. 회장은 GINZA SIX에 자리한 갤러리 THE CLUB로, 첫 개인전에 이은 두 번째 개인전입니다.
Naoya Inose 〈Romantic Depression〉
이전 개인전 내용은 아래 링크를 참고해 주세요.
Naoya Inose 스테이트먼트
Romantic Depression(로맨틱한 우울), 서로 상반된 그 울림은 이치에 맞지 않는 것처럼 보인다. 그러나 내 안에서 이 두 가지는 매우 가까운 거리감 속에 놓여 있다. 나는 회화를 제작할 때 리서치를 중요하게 여긴다. 이번 전시에 앞서 아이슬란드로 리서치 여행을 다녀왔을 때, 바로 이 제목이 뇌리를 스쳤다.
우중충한 흐린 하늘 아래 녹음이 사라진 광활한 벌판. 혹독한 기후에 더해 활발한 화산 활동의 영향으로 삼림이 감소하고, 화산재와 용암이 지면을 뒤덮고 있다. 국제연합 식량농업기구(FAO)의 보고서에 따르면 아이슬란드 국토에서 삼림이 차지하는 면적은 0.5%에 불과하다. 나무가 없다는 것은, 토양 침식을 막고 보수력을 높여 주는 식생이 존재하지 않는다는 뜻이다.
세계 최북단의 섬나라 아이슬란드는 광범위한 사막화의 위기에 처해 있다고 한다. 그런데도 그런 풍경에서 나는 어딘가 로맨스를 느끼고 만다. 종말적인 풍경은 내 작품의 테마로 자주 등장하는데, 아이슬란드는 그야말로 매우 리얼한 환경이었다. 그리고 그 상황은 오늘날의 사람들과도 무척 닮아 있는 듯하다. 특히 현대병의 대표라 할 수 있는 우울은 바로 그런 풍경과 이어진다. 무언가가 고갈되어 재생이 어려운 것, 머릿속이 흐릿하게 낀 듯한 감각. 색이 사라진 풍경이 그곳에는 있다.
낭만주의 풍경화는 늘 이러한 우울적 성질과 이어져 왔다. 대표적인 작가로 Caspar David Friedrich가 있는데, 그의 정적에 감싸인 풍경 작품들은 지극히 로맨틱하게 그려져 있다. 그러나 작가 본인은 우울증에 시달렸다고 전해지며, 작가의 심신적 공허와 그 안에서 발견되는 희망이 작품에 로맨스를 가져다주는 것이 아닐까.
많은 현대인이 이러한 공허감을 어딘가 낯익게 느끼지 않을까 싶다. 나 또한 그중 한 사람이며, 그 공허를 내 필터를 통해 시각화한 이 작품들을 봐 주시길 바란다.
회장 풍경
이번 전시에 출품된 작품들은 Naoya Inose가 스스로 구성한 스토리에 따라, 입구의 작품부터 이야기가 이어지도록 순서대로 전시되어 있었습니다.
오른쪽 작품에서 왼쪽으로, 순서대로 스토리가 전개되고 있습니다Naoya Inose 〈Monolith 143 XI , Homage for Richard Diebekon〉 2020년 Acrylic, Oil on Canvas 28x36cm
대표적인 모티프인 펭귄은, Inose(일본인) 자신을 상징하는 아이콘으로 사용되고 있습니다. 그리고 눈앞의 수영장은 “일본”을 이미지화하여 그린 것이라고 합니다.