Sawano-sensei art

Today I had the opportunity to see some of Sawano-sensei art on display in Kyoto. I learned this is a yearly exhibition that he has been a part of for the last 10 years. From other teachers and artists I've talked to in Japan, this feels common, as they all seem to have steady shows at the same places over and over.

I had known we were going into Kyoto from last week, but had forgotten and ended up being late to class and everyone had left. I had a card announcing the show, but it was all in Japanese. There was a map showing me it was by the river in Kyoto, so after some comparison to other maps, I figured out the cross street and off I went. The cost of trains in Kyoto really add up and if I had more time I would have taken a different route, but after the Hankyu train, a switch to the subway, and a fast paced walk, I was there.

The building was a performance center of some kind, and when I walked in I surprised my classmates who probably did not expect to see me. Sensei seemed very happy to see me, and I was very glad to make it. The exhibition included three of his own works, and maybe 9 other pieces. The first thing I noticed was the size, everything in the room was big, and Sawano senseis' paintings were all 6ft square. The paintings were all cityscapes, he told me the first was from sketches done in Italy, the second from France, and the third an imaginary composition on his own. The paint was laid on so thickly, or so it seemed, and there was a lot of texture to the images. The color was somewhat muted, earthen and neutrals, but there was an under layering of brighter colors. The paintings were not seamless, you could see the obvious joining of two panels, but because of the quality of image, it barely registered. I wish I had taken photos, but did not want to cheapen the experience.

After looking at the art, I sat with Sawano sensei over coffee. We talked about a few things, I remember asking about how his paintings were of cities, man-made objects, when so many of the Japanese paintings I've been looking at involve nature and trees and mountains, etc etc. I could guess the answer, that of an artist following their bliss, making the very best art when they are interesting in what they are doing, but it was good to hear directly. Sawano sensei has traveled a few times in Europe, and we talked about that, how the foreign cities inspired him to make those paintings. This led to my learning something of his influences, and how he had studied under the Japanese artist Insho Domoto, which I then found out had also created a number of abstract paintings using nihonga materials and methods. This was something of a revelation to me, and Sawano sensei told me of an exhibition at a Kyoto museum showing his work.

I left sometime after, conversations like these are somewhat tiring, and I wanted to get back to Nagaokakyo. I wandered a little along Teramachi street and Nishiki food market, found a quick bite to eat, then the train home. Visiting museums, seeing "famous" art is very useful, and eye opening, but in some ways it can lead to tunnel vision. By seeing Sawano senseis' art, along with the other paintings on display, I sampled something more contemporary. I saw Japanese artists dealing with the issues of today, instead of ideas from ages past. It was very interesting and very enjoyable.