uncanny and sorrow in monochrome and color: atsushi takahashi + naritaka satoh + naoki sasayama frantic gallery at art taipei art fair, taiwan august 26th – 29th, 2011

organized by frantic gallery for art tapei 2011, ‘uncanny and sorrow in monochrome and color’ features works by atsushi takahashi, naritaka satoh, and naoki sasayama atsushi takahashi: ‘a thought’ (2011) oil on canvas with gloss 91 x 116.7 cm

loneliness, anxiety, horror, and intensity are examined through three widely different lenses in the exhibition ‘uncanny and sorrow in monochrome and color’, featuring the paintings of japanese artists atsushi takahashi, naritaka satoh, and naoki sasayama. the exhibition is presented by tokyo’s frantic gallery at art taipei 2011 in taiwan.

uncanny and sorrow in monochrome and color detail, ‘a thought’

uncanny and sorrow in monochrome and color detail, ‘a thought’

atsushi takahashi composes his paintings not with a brush but instead by squeezing of oil and acrylic paint tubes directly onto the canvas, creating a tangle of thick dried paint with the blank surface at times exposed underneath. ‘uncanny and sorrow’ marks the first showing of two of his new works, ‘at that place no.1’ and ‘a thought’, among other paintings, including ‘heart’s place’ and ‘feel you as me’, previously featured on designboom.

uncanny and sorrow in monochrome and coloratsushi takahashi: ‘at that place no. 1’ (2011) oil on canvas with gloss 36.4 x 51.5 x 5 cm

uncanny and sorrow in monochrome and color detail, ‘at that place no. 1’

uncanny and sorrow in monochrome and color naritaka satoh: ‘temptation’ (2011) acrylic paint, charcoal, pencil on paper wtih acrylic gloss 91 x 116.7

naritaka satoh works in monochrome, drawing primarily in pencil but adding white acrylic and charcoal to highlight and shade elements of the compositions. his hyperreal pieces depict children and their playthings, but with an unsettling distortion that conflates these subjects, bringing a toylikeness to the human form and an organic lifelikeness to objects.

uncanny and sorrow in monochrome and color detail, ‘temptation’

uncanny and sorrow in monochrome and color naritaka satoh: ‘black shadow’

uncanny and sorrow in monochrome and color naoki sasayama: ‘the new world 02’ (1999) watercolor on montvale paper 41 x 31.8 cm

naoki sasayama works in his own custom-produced watercolours, mixed from glycerin, pigment, ethanol, and other materials, in paintings consumed with catastrophe and fatal events. the bright colours and dynamic movement evoke visual tension with the works’ content, which depicts death and destruction. not unlike takahashi’s works, sasayama’s paintings achieve a sculptural element thanks to the thickness of the paints.

uncanny and sorrow in monochrome and color naoki sasayama: ‘cleaner’ watercolor on montvale paper/panel 130.3 x 162 cm

uncanny and sorrow in monochrome and color naoki sasayama: ‘once again’ (2011) watercolor on montvale paper 162 x 130 cm

all three artists share in common a painterly style that achieves a kind of balance between chaos and tension and calmness. while takahashi and sasayama’s paintings ‘jump out’ at the viewer, satoh’s works instead draw onlookers into their dark world. the juxtaposition of these varied styles brings viewers back and forth into dialogue between introspection and more outwardly-focused sentiments, inviting them to investigate whether it is in the world or in themselves that they find the darkest or quietest depths of emotion.

uncanny and sorrow in monochrome and color installation view at frantic gallery’s recent ‘frantic underlines’ show of works by sasayama, satoh, and takahashi, who are featured together in ‘uncanny and sorrow in monochrome and color’ at art tapei 2011