Tetsuya CHIDA |
Reviews |
Written by Satoshi KOGANEZAWA |
Published: March 12 2009 |
fig. 3 "Rabbit" (2009); oil painting on canvas, a pair of 238.0cm X 45.5cm copy right(c) Tetsuya CHIDA Three months have passed since his last solo-exhibition at GALLERY b.TOKYO.*1 Although the interval has been short, we see progress in his artworks in this new solo-exhibition of six newly-released artworks, and which took place at Gallery Q from March 9, 2009 to March 14, 2009. In "Arbeit" (acrylic on canvas, a pair of 53.0cm X 45.5cm, 2009) [fig.1] and "egg" (acrylic on canvas, a pair of 45.5cm X 53cm, 2009) [fig. 2], the left woman wears a mask but the right woman does not. In "Rabbit" (oil painting on canvas, a pair of 238.0cm X 45.5cm, 2009) [fig. 3] and "Encounter" (acrylic on canvas, a pair of 91.0cm X 72.7cm, 2009) [fig. 4], the right woman wears a mask but the left woman does not. "Me" (acrylic on canvas, 90.9cm X 116.7cm, 2009) [fig. 5] and "Study" (acrylic on canvas, 90.9cm X 116.7cm, 2009) [fig. 6] are both single items but they also feature a pair of women. What does this pair composition mean? We understand his concept clearer compared to the artworks displayed in the last solo-exhibition. The important point is the relationship between the two women; the exposed real face of a woman increases the vividness of the masked woman, which further increases that of the barefaced woman. From the above, you may think Chida just added something extra to the past artworks, but the biggest difference between his latest and previous solo-exhibitions is the desolate atmosphere in the new artworks. In the last exhibition, we felt the women wearing masks gave strength to each artwork but this has turned into weakness in the latest exhibition. Regarding the last solo-exhibition, I wrote that "He expresses strong, tough women and shameless men in general, including himself". Looking at the bare face with the mask removed, it is impossible to describe only one aspect like strength or weakness. In "Study", one girl remains standing with a disappointed look while the other is reading a picture book, and has a huge head. In "Encounter", one girl ruefully watches the other while kneeling down. In these two artworks, the asymmetry between the inside and outside of a person which is never understood unambiguously is expressed. The composition is also clear in four out of the six artworks, but not in "Arbeit" and "Rabbit", in which a bare-faced woman stares at a masked one. All I can do is just stare at my alter ego inside me. The entirely scrubbed matiere amplifies the pain caused by a breakdown in communication between my internal and external self. It is not "the other" that we do not understand, but "myself". The interruption of communication here is not with another but with myself. Notes
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Last Updated on October 27 2015 |