Flying In The Water

Oil on canvas,

Hiromi Sengoku is a Japanese artist born in 1982 who lives and works in London, United Kingdom. Since 2008, she has regularly participated in solo exhibitions in Japan and in numerous group exhibitions. She has also joined art fairs both nationally and internationally with the NICHE gallery and the bruno gallery in Paris and Tbilisi. Notable awards include the Holbein Fellowship (2004), the Shell Art Award Kunio Motoe Jury Prize (2011), nomination for the Ueno Royal Museum Grand Prize (2015), and the Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Grand Prize Museum of Art FACE Award (2018). She also participated as a jury member for the Holbein Fellowship in 2019 and 2021.



In addition to her current theme of "reconstructing the techniques and styles of classical oil painting with a contemporary perspective", Hiromi has for some years used a variety of painting materials, including acrylics, tempera and mineral pigments , especially aqueous. This exploration stems from a desire to reconsider painting in an increasingly diverse and globalized society while reconnecting with one's identity as an artist rooted in Eastern Japan.



Throughout history, painting materials and techniques have developed in close relation to the climate, culture and society of their respective regions. Artistic traditions around the world have diversified and, in modern times, actively incorporated influences from other cultures. For example, the transmission of perspective techniques from the West to Japan during the Edo period, as well as the influence of non-Western painting traditions on Western artists, from the era of Japonism to modern and contemporary artists like Matisse and Hockney, demonstrate the significant impact of intercultural exchanges on painting.



However, upon revisiting the history of painting, she noticed that before the differentiation of painting materials and techniques, there were many similarities. Pre-Renaissance works like tempera and frescoes shared a simplicity in flat lines and color surfaces, as well as an expression of space that did not rely on perspective. These aspects had significant parallels with Japanese Yamato-e paintings, and there were similarities in the use of isometric perspectives with oblique lines and the depiction of human figures and creatures This shared expression had a deep connection to the inherent properties of painting materials.



The artist found the source of these common expressions in ancient cave paintings. Using pigments made from available materials, ancient artists created images on cave walls, using the texture of the rock surface to bring their depictions to life with minimal lines, even conveying spatial depth. Humans' desire to "recreate images on a flat surface" is primitive, and the excitement when lines and colors begin to form images, giving birth to "a world", is a universal experience transcending time and nature. culture. This primordial sensation of "the emergence of the world on a flat surface" is what she aims to capture on canvas, allowing viewers to rediscover and feel the "illusion" inherent in the paintings.



To achieve this, she deliberately retains elements such as visible drawing lines and the materiality of natural paints in her works. The unpredictable qualities of water-based paints, such as their uncontrollable absorption and spreading, not only aid in this endeavor, but also infuse the works with an oriental sensibility. The subjects of her paintings are drawn from everyday life, often highlighting seemingly insignificant moments or words that resonate with her. This process is driven by his desire to represent the universality of our world and, at its heart, the hope of finding something meaningful even in the textures and stains on the canvas.



The use of tempera was a key discovery for her, as it allows the harmonious combination of water-based and oil-based painting materials, thus integrating both Eastern and Western aspects of painting into her works. As an artist with roots in Japan and having learned and lived in both Japan and Western Europe, Hiromi Sengoku explores how to remix Eastern and Western influences in her own work. In today's increasingly globalized society, adhering rigidly to one side seems artificial. She resonates the coexistence of Eastern and Western elements with questions of lines and surfaces of color in painting, and continually seeks ways to achieve this balance in her work.