Bathing

In Takabatake Yoriko’s paintings, each line of paint is applied to the canvas like a thread that has been squeezed out. This is distinctly different from an action painting, in which, for example, Jackson Pollock casually scattered paint around. It is more akin to making a cloth by attaching a single thread to the loom.

Originally drawn to garment textiles, and possessing a collection of fabric samples, Takabatake was inspired by the idea that a group of individual strings could produce a cloth or “plane.” This interest led to her unique method of painting.

Takabatake’s works evolve out of a plane with the appearance of a textile that has been carefully woven out of paint. At times, they also involve bold actions, such as forcefully striking the canvas before the paint is dry in a way that threatens to dislodge it. This results in a simple, beautiful, and dialectic visual realm in which the use of creation and destruction give rise to something entirely new.

In 2014, Takabatake held a solo exhibition as part of the Project N series, designed to showcase young artists, at Tokyo Opera City Gallery. Subsequently, her art, which had a quiet yet passionate following, quickly grew in popularity, attracting interest not only in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Taipei, New York, and Singapore, but also in Europe.

This exhibition, consisting of a series of six works, was not preplanned by either the artist or ShugoArts.

Up until the summer, Takabatake had immersed herself in researching Anni Albers (1899-1994), who has served as a great source of inspiration for the artist. Albers, a noted teacher of textile art, was Paul Klee’s (1879-1940) successor at the Bauhaus. Later, with her husband, Josef, she moved from Germany to the U.S., where she carved out a unique place for herself as a textile artist.

After reaching an end in her research, Takabatake finally returned to making her own work. And having previously expressed the hope that she might show her work in the ShugoArts’ Mishuku space before the Weekend Gallery relocated to Roppongi, we hurriedly organized a solo exhibition, running for two weeks after the end of the summer holidays.

Though only open on Sat. and Sun. (Aug. 27-28 and Sept. 3-4) for a total of four days, the exhibition promises to be fascinating. It will be especially interesting to see how Takabatake Yoriko’s paintings resonate with Aoki Jun’s ingenious gallery space. We would like forward to your visit.