For "Masterpiece Landscape"

What comes to mind when you think of the word masterpiece? If landscape painting comes to mind, make sure it's not Impressionism. In the latter half of the 19th century, painters who were unsuccessful at the Salon, an open call exhibition sponsored by the French Academy, were gathered, and many painters such as Manet and Whistler were born from the disgraceful exhibition called the Rejected Exhibition. The group called Impressionism also came from a failed exhibition. Even within the subject hierarchy advocated by the conservative academy, landscape and genre paintings were considered inferior to religious paintings and portraits. In other words, the Impressionists challenged the Salon with subjects and touches suitable for "failure". However, what this event and the unshakable appreciation of Impressionism in modern times mean is how masterpieces are not self-sustaining but socially swayed. being able to peel it off and re-apply it to yours. Perhaps for artists, such battles occur every time a work is completed. This can be seen in the works of Shiobara and Mitobe on display at this exhibition.

Shiobara's theme is to expand and reinterpret past paintings called "masterpieces." For example, “spray-paint, ankle, machinist, kick, turn out, dropper”, which is the most eye-catching in this exhibition, is based on Delacroix’s “Liberty Leading the People”. The parts that Shiobara quotes in this work are not the parts where the goddess is depicted, they are not the brave people who participate in the uprising, but the people who have already fallen, the people who are under the goddess. In particular, she focused on a young man lying down naked to the waist. However, many viewers will not be able to determine the source of her work at a glance, and her production method of layering paints on a bright color base seems to intentionally cause confusion. With this kind of gaze and production method, she traces the "masterpiece", reweaves it and reweaves it. Rewoven like textiles, the "masterpiece" transforms into a completely different image. In her attempt, she rearranges even the themes of the "masterpieces" she has chosen.

On the other hand, Mitobe draws contemporary genre paintings by turning what he sees on SNS into paintings through reportage and diary methods. This exhibition presents a trio of works titled "National Gallery renames Dega's Russian Dancers as Ukrainian Dancers". Literally translated, the National Gallery renamed Degas' Russian Dancers as Ukrainian Dancers. The news, reported by the British Guardian on April 3, 2022, is that the National Gallery in London renamed the work because the dancers depicted in Degas' work were wearing blue and yellow decorations. Yes, heavily influenced by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Since the title of her work is the headline of an online news article, you can read the corresponding news article by searching for the title as it is. Also, the composition is completely different from Degas' Ukrainian Dancers, and it depicts dancers who are similar but different. The title of the work as an index and Mitobe's drawings, which are drawn with a quick brushstroke based on vague memories like tweeting on SNS, embody the artist's stance on genre painting in the SNS era.

Although the approach to painting and the texture of the work are completely different, they are atelier mates who work hard under the same roof. Shiobara and Mitobe alternately added two revisions to the joint work Spring in Idleness, which will be shown for the first time at this exhibition. The works, which are like letters to and from each other without compromising their own painting style, create a freshness that cannot be seen in their individual works.

In addition, in this exhibition where their individual works are brought together under one roof, it can be seen that the "smartness" and "stateliness" that emerge from their use of color are common. Shiobara's paintings draw dots, stripes, checks, etc. with highly saturated colors as the main colors, and the swelling and luster of the paint further enhance the sparkle and vividness. Mitobe includes many materials in his canvases, and treats pigments as mediums, so the colors remain as original colors. In both cases, there should be many colors and textures on the canvas, but the images are suppressed.

Landscape painting originated in Impressionism, followed by the spread of modern art, such as abstract painting and surrealism, in which images of landscapes are reproduced on canvas, and innovative landscape expression was replaced by the new medium of photography. However, it cannot be said that this is the decline of painting. What Shiobara and Mitobe want to do through their paintings is the appearance of the landscape they want to see, and they are trying to capture them from past masterpieces in their own paintings.

Mayu Hiyama (Curator)