Takashi Iwasaki

Art making is an essential part of my life. I like being in a fluid state more than in a static state. I prefer to be able to work with more than one medium and I like to be flexible in my thoughts and practice. Thus my art discipline tends to explore a broad range of works from formal abstract to representational, conceptual, and symbolic. Shapes and colors in my paintings and drawings evoke figurative qualities which embrace a kaleidoscope of emotions.

Life is too short to take gravely all the time. I want to delight in what I can when I can. Having this as my essential philosophy, my goal of art making is to create a positive and playful atmosphere, and generate warm feelings of intimacy and substance through my work.

I use various media to create my work, for instance; hand embroidering is one of the most time-consuming and painstaking method of art-making which in turn engages my thinking process differently from the other methods I use, such as collage making, drawing, painting, and printmaking. Working with various kinds of media is very important for me to keep my thoughts and ideas fluid and flexible.

I am aware that I also enjoy creating works that have negative implications. In this sense, my creation of positive images works as a counter-response to my own works in addition to the media images of the world. In this way I construct a sort of antithesis that is more about creating a balance of negative and positive; the "yin and yang." It is a part of my philosophy of seeking balance that one should not be too much stronger than the other.

I enjoy creating works in the pursuit of my own aesthetic language. Expanding my visual vocabulary will be for me an everlasting pursuit. For this reason I am concerned with the presence of formal qualities in my work - balance, color, composition, contrast, push-pull effect, shape, texture, variety of mark makings, visual weight, and so on. Creating visual movements in relation to the formal elements is also an interesting way for me to increase my vocabulary and develop my language as an artist (what I call an "art enjoyer").

Takashi Iwasaki