RYU TAKEDA

Ryu Takeda’s paintings evoke the imagery of accidental stains or scars. He remarks that the memories and characteristics of the rural forests from his childhood are expressed not only through his sight, but through sound, smell and touch. Takeda, who often compares the act of painting to an excavation, paints as if to unearth the unconscious realm that has been lost through verbalization and classification.

He has provided the following text for the exhibition.

Something begins to emerge from the layers of strokes and drips. Sometimes it looks like an object, and at other times it seems like a rhythm or sound. After a little rearranging, it becomes clearer than the rest. I also search other areas to see if anything else becomes visible. Something else materializes. In a forest, trees overlap with one another and create density, or suddenly an open space appears, letting in light. I find the shape of a plant within the shape of an insect. The rough bark of a pine tree, or the slick bark of the crape myrtle. A fish hidden in the bottom of the water is startled, and creates a cloud-like shape with the mud. A leaf skeleton. I go back and forth between classifications and scales that are far apart, while rhyming with forms and textures.

Having previously worked with media such as photography, video, and performance, Takeda has focused on painting in recent years, capturing the state of different structures in this world by interacting with the material. However, rather than fixing them on the canvas, he depicts them as generative—things that transform more and more as we try to grasp them.

The show will present around 25 new paintings and 2 new drawings by Ryu Takeda.