Atsushi Tatematsu
About
Atsushi Tatematsu is a Japanese artist specializing in dyeing and textile-based expression. He graduated from Kyoto City University of Arts in 2004 and completed his graduate studies in 2006. He is a Kaiyu (associate member) of Nitten (Japan Fine Arts Exhibition) and has presented his work in numerous solo and group exhibitions across Japan.
In his own words, Tatematsu cherishes the pure joy of color, form, and composition - much like the way a child first encounters art. His aim is for viewers to experience his works freely, expanding their imaginations and simply enjoying the visual experience. Rather than emphasizing technical mastery, he hopes to convey the distinctive appeal of dyeing as a medium. His artistic focus remains grounded in the essentials: color, shape, and balance.
Tatematsu cites Wassily Kandinsky as his favorite artist, noting that Kandinsky’s approach to color harmony and compositional structure has had a significant influence on his own sensibility.
HIGHLIGHTS
Pet Sounds
Diptych, Wax resist dyeing, cotton cloth 116 x 160 cm
Tatematsu’s paintings unfold as image-driven stories, where personal recollections collide with the broader stage of pop culture. Casablanca and Frank Sinatra drift in alongside Japanese rock and Instagram memes. What emerges is La Grande Combinazione, a meta-collage of moods and symbols that feels both sly and elegant. The work carries an air of ease, yet beneath its playful vibe lies the bite of contemporary modality itself, fashionable, knowing and tinged with nostalgia.
They trigger the sensation of recognition where memory and delight converge in rhythms that are sharp, surprising, and sometimes melodramatic. At times the sensation looks like déjà vu. One moment you are immersed in a dream saturated with Technicolor feeling; the next, back in your childhood bedroom, surrounded by VHS tapes, snack wrappers, and the familiar chaos of emotions you cannot quite name. These encounters feel strangely known, even when experienced for the first time.
Tatematsu’s style brims with energy, irreverence, cultural play and remains emotionally precise. It is cool without cynicism and sincere without sentimentality, rich in wit, feeling and visual cues. The artist draws on fashion and pop culture with the fluency of someone who inhabits their textures. Within a single canvas you may encounter fragments of iconic films, puppy-eyed characters, karaoke lyrics, or stray lines from famous songs mingle freely. Together they form a sensory mix of half-forgotten pleasures - cultural memory made both playful and poignant.
The presence of kawaii motifs and media ephemera adds a distinct relational sensitivity. Cartoon-like figures and handwritten phrases step forward as avatars we instinctively connect with. They invite empathy and affection, bypassing logic to touch more primal responses. These images move through instinct, speaking directly to recognition and care.
There are no grand statements on social trauma or political wounds. Tatematsu’s work does not aim to fix the world but to remain present within it. His characters are companions; his canvases are playgrounds. What emerges is not a manifesto but an atmosphere, an attunement — at times shading into cool tenderness, at others into the simple pleasure of shaping an imagistic world that feels right.
Artworks
