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530 West 25th Street, New York, NY
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Through 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.
V I E W YU TA K A F U J I M O R I O N A G O R A G A L L E RY
Links, 2021 Acrylic & Ink on Canvas 36” x 28.5” $ 3 9 0 0 – B U Y O N A RT-M I N E.C O M
Links 2, 2021 Acrylic & Ink on Canvas 36” x 28.5” $ 3 9 0 0 – B U Y O N A RT-M I N E.C O M
Black1, 2021 Acrylic & Ink on Canvas 36” x 28.5” $ 3 9 0 0 – B U Y O N A RT-M I N E.C O M
20211027, 2021 Acrylic & Ink on Canvas 36” x 28.5” $ 3 9 0 0 – B U Y O N A RT-M I N E.C O M
Alone (Cy Twombly, Yutaka Fujimori), 2020 Acrylic & Ink on Canvas 31.5” x 25.5” $ 3 4 5 0 – B U Y O N A RT-M I N E.C O M
Double (Cy Twombly, Mark Rothko, Yutaka Fujimori), 2020 Acrylic & Ink on Canvas 31.5” x 25.5” $ 3 4 5 0 – B U Y O N A RT-M I N E.C O M
Bossa Nova, 2020 Acrylic & Ink on Canvas 31.5” x 25.5” $ 3 4 5 0 – B U Y O N A RT-M I N E.C O M
Message in the Storm, 2020 Acrylic & Ink on Canvas 25.5” x 21” $ 2 8 5 0 – B U Y O N A RT-M I N E.C O M
Fall, 2020 Acrylic & Ink on Canvas 31.5” x 25.5” $ 3 4 5 0 – B U Y O N A RT-M I N E.C O M
Mondrian, Roy Lichtenstein, Cy Twombly, Yutaka Fujimori, 2020 Acrylic & Ink on Canvas 31.5” x 25.5” $ 2 7 0 0 – B U Y O N A RT-M I N E.C O M
Words Used by Twins, 2020 Acrylic & Ink on Canvas 25.5” x 21” $ 2 8 5 0 – B U Y O N A RT-M I N E.C O M
Composition of Z (Cy Twombly from 17:29 to 17:30), 2020 Acrylic & Ink on Canvas 31.5” x 39.5”
$ 3 7 0 0 – B U Y O N A RT-M I N E.C O M
Time and Illness (Cy Twombly Affected by Hans Beller), 2019 Acrylic & Ink on Canvas 31.5” x 25.5” $ 3 4 5 0 – B U Y O N A RT-M I N E.C O M
Assumption of Asia, 2019 Acrylic & Ink on Canvas 31.5” x 25.5” $ 3 4 5 0 – B U Y O N A RT-M I N E.C O M
Composition Number 5, 2019 Acrylic & Ink on Canvas 25.5” x 21” $ 2 8 5 0 – B U Y O N A RT-M I N E.C O M
Imagine Your Nakedness, 2019 Acrylic & Ink on Canvas 25.5” x 21” $ 2 8 5 0 – B U Y O N A RT-M I N E.C O M
Composition Number 1, 2019 Acrylic & Ink on Canvas 31.5” x 25.5” $ 3 4 5 0 – B U Y O N A RT-M I N E.C O M
The theme of my art is a soft-landing of Japan’s mystique on New York culture by merging kanji, which are Chinese characters used in Japanese writing, into highly abstracted tags seen in street art. Historically, Japanese culture has contained many things that could be best described as mysterious, which defy rational explanations even by the natives. For example, the combined use of three writing systems, as well as polytheistic religious cultures. The elements of mystery are found in contemporary Japan as well. Japan’s readiness in accepting diversity of religions and cuisines from around the world, for instance, which can be attributed to the fact that people are traditionally accustomed to living with mixed existences as in polytheism. Exporting the contemporary culture alone will not get the full picture of this mystique across to the outside world. That is why I incorporate kanji, which is over a thousand years old, into my art to introduce the viewers to Japan’s non-rational and mysterious culture and spirit. Eventually, I hope to merge it with New York culture. In street art, alphabets are painted in such abstract forms that they are hardly legible. In fact, they are often more pictures than letters. The point here is to stamp an image on the viewer’s mind. It is to be seen rather than read. Letter abstractions are also seen in Japanese calligraphy. I believe that such abstractions are universally embraced because the visual and artistic nature of writing symbols is recognized. I certainly recognize the visual, mysterious, and artistic nature of kanji. By fusing kanji with the stamping effect of ornate street art writing, I aim to soft-land the mystique of Japan in cultures where Chinese characters are not used.
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