JIRO TAKAMATSU

In ‘Space in Two Dimensions,’ Takamatsu draws lines on the picture plane inspired for example by the form of an object made from pieces of iron joined together, or the arc described by rope hanging off such an object. Thus ‘Space in Two Dimensions’ was not so much a turning from sculpture to painting, or return to painting, as a contemplation of the relationship between the three and two-dimensional: literally a verifying of the relationship between three-dimensional space in works of sculpture, and ‘space in two dimensions.’

With its straight and curved lines intersecting on the canvas, generating colour and form, ‘Space in Two Dimensions’ also offered a premonition of the artistʼs painting to come, including the more dramatic ‘Form’ series. Donʼt miss this opportunity to view a group of important works that demonstrate the relationship between Takamatsu Jiro and painting.

In the words of Jiro Takamatsu (Extract from A drama of nothingness and totality):

‘To my mind, nothingness seems ultimately to aim for totality. I used to work in a way that individually nullified the fact of there being a canvas, or the existence of various objects and characters, as I went along, but this time I think I have done the opposite: work in a direction that is simultaneously nothingness and the whole, by aiming for totality.

In Space in Two Dimensions, freehand lines in yellow, black, green, and red form curves painted one over another. Here, when colors and shapes emerge, memories of the past, emotions, and images become variously entwined with them. By the use of line, form, and colour in two dimensions, things that can occur in the relationship between humans and the world are incorporated through the power of imagination.’

—Jiro Takamatsu