Yutaka HATTA: Sound and Vision
Past exhibition
16 March - 20 April 2024
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OverviewKanda & Oliveira is pleased to announce the exhibition "Sound and Vision" by Yutaka Hatta, which will be held from March 16 to April 20.This exhibition will feature approximately 20 works, including carving works, but also paintings based on auditory and tactile sensations, and works using kozo material in connection with the renowned Echizen’s industry.Born in Fukui Prefecture in 1930, Hatta graduated from Kanazawa College of Art after the war, and continued to create while working as a teacher until his 50s. From Fukui, far from what could be defined as the center of the art scene in Japan at the time, he remained committed to local cultural and art movements such as "Hokubi", and then Tannan Art Festival, while managing his own production in a continuous circular stimulation of creativity.Searching for a unique form of expression that was not a subgenre of European art, Hatta underwent a self-revolution at the age of 30 by burning his canvases and paintbrushes and abandoning oil painting, eventually leading him to find his own carving technique. The design-like visual effect of the overlapping circles gives a sense of majesty, while the texture of the materials and the marks of handiwork that can be seen when getting closer give it a warmth that contributed to make carving works become his signature expression.However, he later lost his eyesight in his 50s due to illness, and there came a time when he had no choice but to give up his creative work and quit his job as a teacher. But he picked up paint again and began creating works based on the flowing sound of paint on the canvas. Hatta explains that after losing his eyesight, he began to see with his hands. He started creating works pasting local washi (traditional paper) on canvas or board. Hatta did not use paper because of its texture, but rather because he wanted to focus on the environment and industry supporting the creation of his works, and to properly address these foundations that are usually invisible to the artist's audience. He then turned to kozo, the raw material only available locally which is used to make washi, because he thought it should be used before it is transformed into a perfect-looking washi. Although the word 「流れ」(nagare, "flow") is often used in the titles of his works after he lost his eyesight, Hatta says that it does not refer to the visual flow emanating from the works, but rather to the flow of life. He says that his own emotional support in the midst of this “flow” is the exchange of hearts and minds. Hatta, who was on the verge of despair when he lost his eyesight and following the deaths of his mentors and friends, and who faced「無常」 (mujo, “the impermanence of life”), seeks eternity in the transmission of his ideas. We hope that as many people as possible can be introduced to Hatta's philosophy through this exhibition.During the exhibition, Yutaka Hatta himself, as well as Kinji Nagamiya (curator of the Tenshin Memorial Museum of Art in Ibaraki) will hold a Talk Event on Saturday, April 6, from 1:00 pm.Please join us (no reservation required, free of charge).Ultimately, Hatta's solo exhibitions are rarely held in eastern Japan, so we hope you will take this opportunity to visit.In collaboration with (titles omitted): LADS GALLERY, Yasuhiro Shimakawa, Switchback
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Artist ProfileArtists
Yutaka Hatta
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. -
Selection of Works
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