Burst of Blue
Raou Tanaka — Artist page
Biography, available works and enquiries
Five Days Remaining — On the Conviction of Ornament, One Dot at a Time
Five days remain before the close of Tanaka Raou’s solo exhibition -閃-, which concludes on Saturday, 9 May 2026.
Burst of Blue, introduced here, is the work in this exhibition that most directly articulates the artist’s philosophy of making.
Across the picture plane, countless chromatic dots proliferate. At first glance they read as the residue of paint flung with force; on closer inspection, each mark proves to have been placed individually with the tip of a brush. These are not accidental splashes but deliberate repetitions. The dots follow the natural movement of the paint to form a pattern, and that pattern quietly governs the harmony of the entire surface.
The conscious decision Tanaka Raou made in this work was to reduce the weight of representation and to heighten the purity of ornamental pattern. Possessing a descriptive facility that has taken him to the top of international caricature competitions, he deliberately steps away from it here. Just as the carved ornament on a structurally unnecessary column transforms architecture into art, the work embodies a conviction that decoration is the purest domain of artistic expression — a belief condensed into this boldly open composition in blue.
Panel, acrylic. 10P (530 × 410 mm). Produced 2026. JPY 330,000 (tax included).
Solo exhibition Tanaka Raou: -閃-
Dates: 25 April – 9 May 2026 (Saturday)
Venue: Gallery Seek (Caretta Shiodome B1F)
Five days remain to stand before this blue.
▶ Work details and enquiries: https://art-scenes.net/ja/artworks/52449
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