Japanese artist Shintaro Ohata is back with two new sculptures popping out of paintings. As we’ve seen before, the artist has a distinct style of placing sculptures in front of his paintings, giving us a new way to appreciate both art forms. From now till August 10, father and daughter Mr. Mizuma and Ms. Yukari from Yukari Art are curating a group show featuring 22 artworks from 5 different artists. In addition to these two pieces by Shintaro Ohata, you’ll find works by Enpei Ito, Yoddogawa Technique, Akira Yoshida and Osamu Watanabe. Called Sweet Paradox, the exhibition is at being held at Mizuma Gallery in Singapore.
Childhood is the common theme in these two works. In the first piece, the balloon represents that feeling of an innocent time that’s passed us by. As the artist tells us, “A balloon itself is nothing. However, it can be something important. We all experience that same sad feeling when a balloon suddenly sails into the sky, getting smaller and smaller as it drifts away. Although the balloon is not in our hands anymore, the feeling of it is stored in our memory.”
Reverse rise or “sakaagari” is the name of the skill of hanging on a horizontal iron bar and performing a reverse circle around it. Popular with Japanese school children, it’s often practiced on a playground. “We can see the sky when we can successfully do this so we challenge ourselves again and again until it’s dark,” says Shintaro. “This girl has just successfully completed her reverse ride and is now looking over the sky with joy. I thought the landscape seen at that time could be something like a ‘time traveling tunnel’ that reminds people of childhood.
“These fragments of our memory are what I’m trying to express through my works.”
Mizuma Gallery website
Images courtesy of Shintaro Ohata and Yukari Art