キンクルチョ, 1964, carving and water-based paint on pulp board
Yutaka Hatta (b. 1930 in Fukui Prefecture, Japan; lives and works in Fukui Prefecture) is an artist known mostly for his carving works, in which he engraved multiple layers of circles on building materials and metal plates with a carving knife and a chisel.
While his first works displayed the style of cubism and constructivism, they gradually became more abstract over the years, as he got inspired by old Japanese patterns such as Ko-kutani designs and ancient decorated tombs, and often used circle motifs. However, Hatta, seeking to reach his own original expression and pursuing avant-garde art, reached a major turning point by abandoning the paintbrush and even denying the act of painting as an established technique. In the mid-1960s, he developed his “carving” works, experimenting with geometric patterns arranged in a tense composition on a square panel, shadows created by the carved lines themselves, and visual moiré effects. This technique made him famous locally and then throughout Japan.
The carving process sadly put a tremendous strain on Hatta's eyes, and his eyesight gradually deteriorated until he completely lost his vision around 1980. He resumed painting a few years later using auditory and tactile senses, relying on the sound of paint flowing over the canvas. In another series called “Nagare (Flow),” he shows the strength of the bark of the kozo trees glued to the canvas, and it became Hatta's representative work today, which he continues to make still.
Yutaka Hatta graduated from the Kanazawa College of Art after the war, and worked as a junior high school teacher while creating oil paintings. He also has been promoting a local cultural movement by holding the “Contemporary Art Imadate Paper Exhibition” since the 1980s and the “International Tannan Art Festival” since the 1990s, following the art movement of the Hokubi Bunka Kyokai, which was promoted by the critic Hidetaro Tsuchioka. These activities are not limited to Japan and include solo exhibitions in Italy, and exhibitions with young artists in the U.S., Philippines, Brazil, Israel, Sweden, and Germany, as well as profound exchanges with Korean artists through traditional paper culture.