Kenji Shibata was born in Niigata prefecture in 1971 and now resides in Moriya, Ibaraki. Completed postgraduate Studies in Oil Painting Course at Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music in 1998. Since his first one person show at Gallery Q in Tokyo in 1997, Shibata has been presenting his works in several one person shows in Tokyo and some group shows as "Fiction ? - Painting in the Age of the Virtual" at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo in 2002 or "Attempt" at Museum Haus Kasuya, Yokosuka in 2007 (curated by an artist, Mr. O Jun).
Flat painting like a mirror
Ever since he was studying at university, Shibata has been creating abstract monochrome paintings which could be said to be orthodox at a glance. They are composed with delicate colors and distinguished by those smooth and shiny surface like mirror. His working process is like this: at first he spreads glue over the surface of paper or canvas to prevent it from absorbing oil, and next pours limited numbers of color of paints, then uses brushes and constructs the flat surface. There produced a subtle sign of red or blue color absorbed in dark brown, dark gray or dark green color which is dominant in his paintings. Sometimes viewer can feel certain depth, light, images like scenery or illusion in it. His beautiful paintings full of calmness, with high completeness and feeling of tension, attract the viewer very much.
Throwing dice
The titles of his works are numbers chosen randomly by throwing dice. Shibata hit upon this method when he began thinking that his works could not be ranked, that they are all equal.
Painting as a film
The attempt by Shibata is to investigate the breaking point where painting can stand up as a painting, while he restraining the elements or condition that have been forming painting until now - color, form, composition, brush stroke or illusion or even title as much as possible. He persists in smoothness/ flatness as seen in the surface of western traditional painting, operating brushes in order to bring about a sense of depth bouncing our eyes at a certain point. It can be said that it is a trial to reduce a painting to the horizon of its genesis, namely plane/ two dimensions characteristics as a thin film. And nothing but his awareness of the difficulty to create such an abstract painting in the present age gives his works such a strength and feeling of tension.
Straddle
The title of this show, "Straddle" is the term of gunnery in the navy, which means the situation that a target is in the impact area range of the shell which can fire it. For Shibata, painting is similar to this.
This installation is Shibata's second show at taguchi fine art. New paintings from the group he prepared for his one person show at New Positions program of Art Cologne in April will be on view. Please come to take a look at his new large paintings which contain abundance and new possibility in painting.
* The text provided by taguchi fine art.