- The relationship between life and the world based on the unconscious -.
Crystallized landscapes
To look like nature, to be close to nature
And to become "another nature".
The subject of "crystallized landscape" is deeply related to the technique of painting with a tapping brush.
The introduction of the unconscious by tapping refuses to 'paint'.
The result is not a 'painted' screen, but a 'crystallized' one.
Tapping is an act that goes beyond 'painting' and directly links one's sensibility to the screen.
What emerges from this is a landscape that dwells within.
The memory of nature within me is expressed and recorded in the form of paint.
Nature has a pleasant rhythm.
You can see this when you draw the human body, trees, flowers, rivers, seas, landscapes and animals.
And this rhythm is also present in me.
When my physical rhythm is in tune with the rhythm of nature
the painting crystallizes.
Taiga Ito
About Taiga Ito’s work
When you stand in front of Ito's work, Crystallized Landscape, your body and mind enter the painting and you feel as if you are slowly travelling somewhere. You begin to feel a vast expanse that exceeds the actual size of the painting.
The painted objects seem to be filled with light and you feel a kind of radiance of life. The paintings seem to express an image that cannot be expressed in words, and the movement of the paintings seems to be a record of the vibrancy of life in the unconscious realm. It can therefore be said to be an expression of the primordial atmosphere of life in search of light.
In addition, the work also contains elements of the cosmos. It is work that allows the viewer to feel the expanse of the universe and the radiance of life on the painting's surface. This is the source of a certain sense of comfort and security that we feel when looking at Taiga Ito's <Crystallized Landscape>.
By the way, perspective is not used in the <Crystallized Landscape> works. Even without perspective, the works have a sense of depth and three-dimensionality. It is a work that has the amazing ability to make us feel and see the universe and its existence on a two-dimensional plane.
In <Crystallized Landscape>, he uses a technique known as 'tapping brush', in which he taps the brush into the canvas and immerses herself in the work to the point where he forgets himself. The conscious awareness of the unconscious in the making of these works is an important element in the artistic theory of this body of work.
There is no combative nature (André Malraux) in these works, which is one of the fundamental components of Western art, and there is no dichotomous element. As they are not associated with dichotomies such as "I and you", "right and wrong", "good and evil", etc., they give you a sense of rest and tranquillity when you look at them. In addition, the screen work is very carefully crafted and has a kind of superior craftsmanship. In this sense, it can be said to be a very Japanese expression.
Taiga Ito’s 'Crystallized Landscape' works are contemporary, Japanese-style oil paintings that emerge from a different context from Western art history, a style that has the potential to relativise Western art history.
The artist sees a deep meaning in the one-time nature of life phenomena and approaches his paintings as a record of a certain time. What is felt in the work is the dynamic relationship between (un)consciousness and the (cosmic) world that is constantly emerging inside the human being.