Artist talk English summary

TAOP “Intuition” Works on paper at The Glass Pyramid, Moerenuma Park

Artists’ Talk Summary

・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・

Performance by unicycle dancer Rina Okabe

・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・

Explanation of TAOP by André Kruysen- 

Founded in 2013 by RaymondCuijpers and Jeroen Hofhuizen.

An international collective of artists who value intuition.

Introduction by Mr. Yoshio Kato.

Introduction of artists: André Kruysen, Yasuhiro Kasami, Kenjiro Takada, and Mayako Nakamura.

Kato: The relationship between Japan and the Netherlands goes back to Dejima in Nagasaki. The history of Dutch painting was summarized: Rembrandt, Vermeer, Van Gogh, Mondrian. 

Many Japanese artists depict their relationship with nature rather than using their intellect.

How was this group formed?

André: TAOP is interested in using intuition rather than cerebral. The founder of the group, Raymond, had originally been a professional football player. Sport and art share a common intuition- often the body is moving before you think. The action of kicking a ball begins before thinking. When painting, the hand holding the brush is moving before thinking. Raymond and Jeroen started to look for the artists internationally. Mayako was the first foreign artist we met on the internet.

Kato: How did the Japanese artists other than Mayako joined the exhibition?

Mayako: This is the second exhibition in Japan. The last time we traveled in Aichi and Yokohama. This time, in Ginza, Shiodome, Takarazuka and Sapporo. At the Park Hotel Tokyo in Shiodome, we invited Kenjiro, who also had an exhibition at the hotel. In Takarazuka, Chikako was recommended by Mr. Kato. In Sapporo, Yasuhiro was introduced by Mari Homma, withart.

Kato: This is an artists talk. Artists, please explain your work.

Kasami: I paint color, shape and other elements, while interacting with the work intuitively. These works are tribute to Isamu Noguchi’s “Akari”. Noguchi once was a war prisoner, and when he was living a hard life, the moon was his only hope. Acrylic spray was used on the washi paper.

Takada: I studied Japanese painting at university, not because I liked Japanese painting, but because I was interested in painting with the rock paints, paper, foil and ink- the materials that were used in the Japanese painting process. Now I usually use fabric and dye but here I used paper for the first time. I wished to create an expression that could only be done on paper. I also became interested in viruses under the influence of Corona, and I wanted to create a kind of anthropomorphic work about viruses, which even among experts are divided on whether they are living or inanimate entities.

Mayako: Introduction of a collaborative work with unicycle dancer Rina Okabe. Created during the residency. Kent paper was laid on the floor, on which Mayako sprinkled paint and painted with her feet, while Rina painted with a unicycle. At the venue, they were displayed in a circle, like Noguchi’s Akari.

The work at the window was created during the residency, also. Tried to express the wind she felt when she came to Moerenuma immediately after arriving in Sapporo. The shaking leaves of silver grass are depicted in conte, and the large brushstrokes utilizing bunches of yomogi ( mugwort ).

André: I used to make large sculptures, but the COVID-19 prevented me from presenting them, so I started making animations. In my animations, I trace and overlay photographs of my own sculptures onto a single a sheet of paper, which is projected from multiple viewpoints. For this residency, I used a similar technique to create works on paper. The two works represents my work and the glass pyramid inside and outside. I also made etchings from photographs of some of my animations. The thoughts always seem not to be myself. They seem different.

Betrayal thoughts and Mr Kato’s experience. ‘It’s like the drawings I made which I felt that they didn’t belong to me…’

Kato: How did André and Mayako get along at the residency this time around?

André: I spent two weeks in Naebo Art Studio, working in the same building with local artists from Sapporo, sharing the same space with Mayako. It was easy to work with Mayako!

Mayako: In Tokyo, I always wondered how to paint large works in a very tiny studio. Here in Sapporo I finally had a big space to paint large works! But at first I was at a loss- how to use the large space. But soon I got used to the environment and started to enjoy drawing.

Kato: It’s the relationship between the body and the space.

What was your inspiration in Moerenuma? How was it reflected in your work?

André: The huge park of Moerenuma allowed me to make a connection between myself and the work.

Mayako: The wind was blowing when I ate my sandwiches on the hill above the car park during the preliminary visit. The wind I felt in my body. The sight of the shaking leaves of silver grass at the bottom of the hill remained in my body and in my mind, and this was the inspiration for this work.

André: I use ‘intuition’ when I select the elements. Mayako draws lines intuitively and applies paint according to her intuition when she is facing the painting.

What does Abstraction mean? Painting an Apple doesn’t mean it’s an apple

André: There are also symbolic paintings from the 16th century in the Netherlands. For example, a birdcage. The door of the birdcage is closed. There is a bird inside. This is a symbol of a virgin. The bird is in the cage. But the door is open. It means that the couple will be married soon. An empty birdcage is married.

André: There is a large Mondrian collection in The Hague, where I live. When you look at the evolution of Mondrian’s painting style, you can see the process of abstraction. When I do workshops, I feel that abstract painting demands a lot from the viewer. Children understand it better! Adults expect something from them. Children see and paint without any expectations.

Kasami: Place one element on the paper. Look at it for a while. Draw again.

Takada: Recently, I have also become interested in the pictures drawn by AI: the eyes and hands in AI drawings are deformed, and I am interested in how they recognize human hands and eyes, and their drawings look very abstract from a human point of view. I feel that both Pierre Bonnard’s landscapes and Francis Bacon’s paintings are similar to AI paintings.

Andre: Evolutionary biologists in Amsterdam say AI will take over human evolution. What a human learns by the age of 18, AI learns in two minutes.

Kato: When photography was invented, painters lost their jobs, now it’s time for AI to paint! Artists, are you not afraid of losing your job?

Kasami: I’m not afraid.

Kato: But it’s the way you use it. Because it was the internet that connected the Dutch members with Mayako! (Laughter.)