Agora Gallery
6月28日 8:00 ·
This week’s #StudioSunday artist, Ken WADA, creates ink works that incorporate a full range of free-flowing painting techniques. Born and raised in Japan, the artist began to study calligraphy at the age of six. However, he worked as a science teacher for 15 years, until he started painting and drawing at the age of 39. Since then, his life has changed dramatically. The artist decided to move to France in 2004, where he studied drawing and oil painting. He lived there for seven years, until an unexpected event in 2011 changed everything; his mother had fallen into a coma, and the artist had to cancel his shows to be close to her. During that time, the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami occurred: “After experiencing my mother’s illness and the giant earthquake, I became more interested in the world of the unconscious. Depiction of what underlies in the unconscious became the goal of my creative activity, and every day I attempt to get as close to the goal as possible, introducing elements of the unconscious into my artworks”, as the artist describes.
WADA is interested in using the traditional medium of ink in innovative ways. For instance, he painted much of his recent work with branches picked from his own garden. He believes that the origin of his creative activity lies in the seven years that he attended calligraphy classes as a child. Apart from art, his interests include reading literature and philosophy, listening to classical music, gardening, jogging, while he is also a keen animal lover. To him, the most gratifying experience as an artist is during his one-man shows, where he sees his exhibits hanging on the walls.
Ken WADA will showcase his works at the Artexpo Art Fair in New York, this October.
Artworks available for sale by the artist: https://bit.ly/2BJRzFO
ニューヨークの Agora Gallery の Facebook で昨日から紹介されています。
これ2016年2月の写真です。写真はちょっとどうかと思うけれど、書いてあることはすべてその通りです。あの時、確かかなりの量の質問をされ、それへの返答を一つ一つしました。それから4年以上も経ってそのインタビューが一つの記事になって出てくると驚きます。StudioSunday と言うのは Agora Gallery の Facebook で毎週日曜日にアーティストのアトリエを紹介する特集コーナーです。
Thank you very much, Agora!
4年前の写真ですけれど、ずいぶん描いていたんだな、そしてまだ少しは今よりも若かったんだな。
今年はコロナで全ての展覧会が延期になり苦しい戦いが続いていますが、
「今でも同じようにいやそれ以上かな?ともかく描き続けているよ」
とあの頃の自分に言いたい。
そのことが僕の心の救いです。
2020年6月30日
和田 健
