Pure creation without concepts

Colors melt and mix. Images appear unintentionally on the screen. Takuya Sugiyama is a painter who produces abstract paintings that evoke the natural beauty of the swirling surface of the ocean or the cross-section of a mineral, and that capture the dynamism of life. After studying spatial design and design theory at Tama Art University, he began working as a painter after his work was featured at AGORA GALLERY in New York, USA. He actively exhibits his work at solo exhibitions and art events both in Japan and abroad.

"I find beauty in the stars, the sea, and things that are unartificial. I focus on capturing the phenomena of this world as they are and the pictures that emerge from them," he says, and he practices art as a pure creative process that is devoid of human intention or concept.

An exhibition created using the painting process

The title of this exhibition, "Reincarnation," means "rebirth." Sugiyama believes that life is a phenomenon that continues to change forever, even after death. When plants wither, their leaves fall, and they return to the earth, he does not see this as death, but as a phenomenon in the cycle of life, a single process in the midst of change. In this way, life deepens in the long process of change, spreading out through diverse interactions, and becoming an undulating wave.

In addition to around 20 paintings that range between the concrete and abstract in an attempt to capture the story of the fleeting nature of life, the exhibition is packed with the artist's first endeavors, including a Japanese sword created in collaboration with a swordsmith.

Sugiyama says that when he approaches a canvas, he does not prepare any concepts or sketches, but captures the phenomenon of lines taking shape and colors reacting to each other as they are. On the other hand, when creating an exhibition space for a solo exhibition, he builds it up from a concept, taking a purposeful approach that is the exact opposite of the automatism of his paintings.

This time, the exhibition was created with the concept of "What if we were to create an exhibition space using the approach of painting?" It is an installation where you can witness a chain reaction of events starting from a single painting.

A story unfolding from a blue egg

The beginning of "Reincarnation" is an untitled work depicting a blue egg on an all-black background. It captures "an egg as an entity between life and matter. As it is, it doesn't produce anything, but once fertilized it becomes full of the potential for something to begin. Providence begins from the self-contained world of the egg. It reacts with the outside world and energy flows."

Blue is the color that is most appealing to him because it has a high degree of color correlation and can express the expanse of the universe. The shapes depicted are simply shapes without any concept. They could look like a distant planet or a tiny cell, but they are not limited to any of these. The painting that is the first scene of this exhibition gives a thrilling premonition of the direction of the story, emerging as a providence writhing in the deep darkness.

And then there is the Japanese sword with a picture painted on its white sheath by Sugiyama. Born from the transformation of iron sand and charcoal, the Japanese sword is the crystallization of energy and the very phenomenon of life. It is presented as a symbol of the transience of life.

"When we think of swords, we think of them as weapons. However, things that evoke images of violence are also sculptures that have been created by transforming natural objects. Stone, iron, industrial products, and all of these are phenomena that appear in a constant state of change, and I feel that they are life itself."

A sense of life expanding from a finite state to infinity

"Having concepts means dividing up everything. The more concepts you have, the more restricted you become, and the more closed off you become. This is where disconnection comes from. The world expands when you dismantle concepts and respond to what is in front of you."

People can become more free by being liberated from concepts and values. Rather than trying to extract meaning from what is happening in front of them, they simply witness and react. Sugiyama believes that this is the natural way of life for all living things, and that it liberates creativity and life.

He will also be showing prose pieces that are randomly spun together from words that came to his mind in response to his own work. The expansive possibilities of life can be seen in the wordplay that deconstructs meanings, a style that is unique to Sugiyama, who has also acted in stage productions and films. By removing supports, styles, and all labels, a sense of life spreads infinitely from the limited space of the gallery.