Yutaka Fujimori
The Ethereal Dance: A Winter’s Dream
December 1 - December 22, 2021
Reception: Thursday, December 2, 2021, 6-8 PM
Inquire View CatalogThrough bold and graphic marks, Japanese artist Yutaka Fujimori uses techniques of typography and graphic design to manipulate visual forms of communication. Often illegible, the text is compositionally inspired by the distinct shapes used in Japanese text, in particular Kanji characters (Chinese characters used in Japanese writing). In elementary school, Fujimori became inspired by the graphic approaches of Yoshida Sensha manga and the inclusion of undecipherable characters. As an alumnus of Kuwasawa Design College in Tokyo, the artist explores the boundaries of abstracting text which he observes in aging advertisements and the perpetual layering of street media.
With acrylic paint and ink on canvas, Fujimori creates fictional characters and mixes them with actual Japanese textual characters to create a recognizable but undecipherable message. He considers themes such as access to education, poverty, and the coexistence of cultures while painting. The artist began identifying abstract qualities and stylistic choices in Japanese calligraphy and expanded upon the embellishments to text using a distinct aesthetic style. His paintings are meant to express the unknown or mystery, a characteristic that Fujimori identifies as key to how contemporary Japanese culture should be understood.