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Naoko Watanabe

Love Myself

​4 - 25 December 2022

   One of my current concepts is to create a fresh approach to painting in a world where physical and digital coexist. I aim to expand the expressive possibilities of painting by leveraging the diversity of lines, richness of color, the luster of oil painting, and the charm of digital expression.

 

I place great importance on the idea that my paintings are "paintings that are difficult to comprehend." The state of "not comprehending" signifies freeing the painting from the need to be understood, thus creating a space for an individual encounter between the painting and the viewer. By using the "lines and colors unique to paintings" and the "energy that stirs the physical body" of abstract art, I aim to offer a form of "viewing with sensuality." Our goal is to transform the painting experience into a space teeming with possibilities for viewers to discover their own creativity.

 

The title of this exhibition, "LOVE MYSELF," conveys the importance of self-love. Prejudices towards various things and the constraints of existing values can be invisible, and we might not even notice them in ourselves. These preconceptions shape our relationships with ourselves and others from the outset, resulting in divisions and violence. I seek to employ the power of abstract painting to liberate us from prejudices and constraints, fostering rich and creative connections. Abstract paintings engage in a meaningful dialogue with the unknown and the foreign, leading to a new perspective on oneself and various things. Sometimes, what's truly important remains obscured, and we may not see it clearly or choose to ignore it. I believe that standing in front of a painting helps me recognize the beauty and importance in my life. I create with the hope that it encourages people to love themselves as they are and to speak about themselves.

 

In recent works, I have continued to explore the concept of "coexistence in contrast" as a significant theme. I aim to capture the moment when irreconcilable elements come together in a beautiful state within a painting. I utilize colors such as pink, silver, and white, along with various line expressions as key motifs, with the intention of infusing my paintings with energy and power through the balance of senses and the fusion of diverse images.

 

I believe that painting is a realm of ideas that allows us to view the world in the most unrestricted way. I genuinely hope that this exhibition will become a platform for open dialogue through art. We aspire to provide an opportunity for everyone, including those who don't typically engage with art, to explore and relish their encounter with it.

 

works
Beating of Astronaut < J >
Beating of Astronaut < R >
Yet To Come < Purple Light >
Yet To Come <White Light>
LOVE MYSELF < Perspective Of The Body 2022 >
The Beautiful Experience
NFT

LOVE MYSELF-2022 summer-

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LOVE MYSELF-2022 spring-

artist profile
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Contemporary artist working in an abstract manner. Watanabe deeply explores the role of color in conveying the essence of the world and its perception.

One of Watanabe's concepts is "representing the moment when incompatible things meet as a beautiful state of painting." “The conflict of different things happens continually in life. Rather than seeing it as a trap or inconsistency, I want to make it the most interactive and active moment for each other to shine,” Watanabe thinks. The striking strokes and quiet lines are folded in layers, the composition of abstraction and concrete, and the glossiness of the oil, the complex color mixture and the color that changes the way of viewing by light rays, We want to work and see. “My painting is a painting that I don't understand. I don't understand it, but experience and feel it. I want to create a new option for the viewers to discover their own creative ideas.”

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