We are delighted to present the exhibition of Motonori Uwasu, “Landscape". This will be the second time we have hosted his exhibition since 2011 at YOD gallery. Uwasu has been creating his artworks with motifs of landscapes which he often sees in Osaka, where he grew up. This exhibition will show large scale monochrome paintings which capture the landscapes such as a multi-storey building and riverside in Hong Kong.
　
His paintings seem to depict a realistic scenery with a sharp shading, but behind that lies Uwasu’s unique method and concept. He does not only draw realistically, he draws as if he were taking an object apart in pieces and then re-constructing them again in a different way. He deconstructs an image of a landscape he chooses, taking the view from his own experiences and knowledge, and he creates a new image which is distant from his view point. 
　
The processes of : saving-extra process, for example getting off signboards from the landscape, not leaving a blushing mark and unifying color tones at a very small level creates a sharp and cold impression to his artworks. However, his paintings seem to have polysemy which enable the viewers to connect with the works with their own memories and experiences. Perhaps, his works leave a space for us to create the meaning of the works with their own imagination. In this exhibition, the viewers will face the large landscape imaginary of Hong Kong in which Uwasu found similarities with Osaka, and could feel the power of the works themselves that allows them to create their own landscapes. 


Landscape

We choose to look at or pass by a landscape with our own knowledge, experiences, prejudice or values
Of course, the landscape I choose is also based on them as well.
We might miss a symbolic or monumental building or landscape if we do not know its historical background.
On the other hand, the thing looking just like trash could be something special for someone or it is just trash.
Thinking in this way, we could say that everything has the same value.
In order to get rid of my finger marks (knowledge, experiences, prejudice or values) from the landscape imagery I choose, I decompose it to a great deal of colors, sometimes remove them and take my time to put them in order and rebuild a new image.
I believe that this new landscape which appears again has taken a distance from me and gets closer to the thing of the “same value”.

Motonori Uwasu