Takako Hojo-white out～comments from the artist

---

Colors leaping out of shapes, light approaching

---

The works in this gallery are a series of oil paintings on white backgrounds, which I also did when I was a student. I have consistently focused on the theme of "light," and these works are painted with the image of light flickering on the surface of water and coming toward us. Rather than reproducing the landscape, I find the light and paint it.

Installation view at the exhbit "white out" , Room 01

left：《white out no.2》1940ｘ970ｍｍ, right：《white out no.1》1940ｘ1940ｍｍ, oil on canvas, 2022

《white out no.1》(detail)

This series of paintings on a white background has an aggressive sense of a white matte surface coming toward viewer. I attempted to create a sense of liveliness by painting with glossy oil paints on a matte base, so that the paintings would come closer to the viewer. I also made the fine brushstrokes a little thicker and was conscious of the difference in brush pressure.

I started painting abstract images when I was a student. When I was sketching in the garden of the house I was living in at the time, the colors of the plants I was growing seemed to jump out at me. From there, I began to paint abstract images as if the colors jumped out from the shapes. I wondered how I could draw them as if they were coming forward, and this time, the work I drew on a white background took shape from the combination of that experience and my desire to depict midsummer when the light is strong.

left《white out no.3 -L-》, center《white out no.3 -M-》, right 《white out no.3 -R-》1940ｘ1303ｍｍ each, oil on canvas 2022

In addition, as a new experiment, this time I also drew yellow organic round shapes in the water surface, which are different from the ripples of the green of the trees and the color of the sky reflected in the water surface that I have drawn in the past. I am thinking that by adding something different, I hope to create a sense of mystery in the way it is seen. I simply painted with a strong touch of transparent colors and included a sense that you can feel something like the pressure of my moving brushstrokes.
I wanted to create a light image for the "white out no.3" divided in three paintings, so I created the impression that they are bright or that they look gorgeous and light, even though they don't seem to use that many colors at first glance. I hope that the viewer will feel a sense of lift.

I have often divided the screen in the past, but when the object I am looking at is large in relation to my body, I have a sense that the viewpoint moves, and I divide the screen according to the "shift" of the moving viewpoint and the relationship between the object I am looking at and myself.

《white out no.14》530ｘ530ｍｍ, panel, oil on canvas, 2022

left：《white out no.9》, right ：《white out no.6》225ｘ280ｍｍ each, panel, oil on canvas, 2022

Smaller works are often viewed from a closer distance, so I am conscious of the difference between matte and glossy textures in order to create a more beautiful impression as an object. I use a variety of colors in my small works, but I use colors in the sense that they reflect reflections of the surrounding objects and the sky. I don't have the desire to reproduce the colors exactly, so I am not sure what time of day it is, but I often take colors from images of the evening sky or the sky before the sun sets.

---

Landscape melting in the light

---

《Melts with light 2》910ｘ727ｍｍ, oil on canvas 2022

The first painting I did in this gallery was "Melts with the light 2".
When I went to a nearby park, I had an image of a scene melting away in the light, and I wanted to paint that image, so I painted it in about two days. The work in this gallery was painted in a relaxed manner, though not humming with great pleasure. I had an image that had been warming up in my mind for a long time, and I painted it as if I had smoothly put it on the screen.

The original landscape of this work is actually a very deep landscape with a river running through it, grassy fields around it, and mountains in the distance. The way I paint depends on my feeling at the time, rather than on the motif. I hope to bring out more of what I was seeing and feeling at the time.

《Melts with light 6》910ｘ727ｍｍ, oil on canvas, 2022

This work, "Melts with light 6," was also created as a new sensation, as I thought it would be nice if I could compose the painting as if the light were melting. I drew the tableau with the same sensation as if I were drawing, and I painted it sensitively without being conscious of reproducing

upper work：《Melts with light 3》727ｘ910ｍｍ, lower work：《Melts with light 7》727ｘ606ｍｍ, oil on canvas, 2022

“Melts with light 3" and "Melts with light 7" are similar to the way I have painted in the past, but in this new work, I wanted to create a more flat surface than usual, so I used more brush strokes that are a little droopy and a little soggy.

《Melts with light 5》727ｘ910ｍｍ, oil on canvas, 2022

In this exhibition, in addition to the usual technique of feeling the light and fixing it on the screen, I have added the flatness of the painting. I am trying to give the viewer a greater sense of the flatness of the painting by making thick strokes of transparent colors hang down and by creating the feel of the brushstrokes.
When I painted "Melts with the light 5," I felt like I was free and could paint anything. I also thought that maybe I had been narrowing myself down. I have been changing the series according to the difference in sensation as the method for each series has been established, but now I feel that I do not have to be rigid in my motifs. As I painted this time, I thought that if the theme of the series is a sense of light, perhaps it can be expanded to include objects other than natural objects.

---

The exhibit is through Sunday, October 23. We appreciate your kind visit to the solo show where you can feel the new development of the work of Hojo.
Takako Hojo Solo Exhibition：white out
September 30-October 23, 2022
※The artist will stay in the gallery on the last day of October 23. Please do not miss this occasion!