Sep. 13rd Tue – Sep. 24th Sat, 2022
12:00~18:00　(last day~17:00)

　　

One day I decided to draw my own eyes. A self-portrait that depicts only the simple individual differences of a human being based on the patterns of the iris. It is a self-portrait that does not change, that is not affected by the deterioration of the body, and that has no difference in facial expression. It is also a self-portrait of oneself that cannot change no matter how one tries. I thought that was interesting.

I took a picture of my own eyes to depict it, but it reflected the image I was seeing. The image of the surface of my eye, which is changing rapidly, appears to overlap with the pattern of my iris, which does not change or cannot change. I thought that was interesting too.

It was an image that I saw, but it was an image that only I could see as an image file of memories stored as material in my brain, and it also contained information of sounds and smells that I recognized with my five senses at that time. And it is an extremely personal image that will disappear forever with me when I die. In other words, it is my life itself, and painting it is an expression of my life.

Who exactly am I? For what purpose am I born, live, and die? These are universal questions that we all ponder. The countless self-portraits that have been painted so far have the look of a sincere quest to answer this question. Can a self-portrait be a genealogy of self-portraits?

This will be one of the major themes of this exhibition.

2022/9/13 Takeshi Iwasawa

▶︎TAKESHI IWASAWA

1959 Born in Osaka
1983 Graduated from Aichi Prefectural University of Fine Arts and Music, Department of Painting (oil painting) 

1984 Solo Exhibition (galerie16) ’85’86’89’92’94’97
2011 Solo Exhibition (galerie16) “Pupilscape” ’13 “Pupilscape – Red Memory
2012 Kyoten Prize: Print Division, Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art
2013 Kyoten Prize: Print Division (Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art)’14’15’16 Print and Western Painting Division