Black and white, woman and man, belong and not of belongs and not, from painting and printing, to sculpting and designing, delicate in might, an artistic mind with a following of eyes from various field of life.

– Takeru Amano –

OKNP and Shinsegae Gallery (Gangnam) will hold the first official solo exhibition of Amano Takeru (1977~) in Korea, who has been loved and exhibited worldwide, including Japan, the United States, France, and Hong Kong for about a month from June 22 to July 16. Takeru is an artist who engages in various visual art activities, mastering both fine art and the design fields.

Born in Tokyo in 1977, Takeru spent his childhood experiencing various visual inspirations. At that time, in Japan, subcultures such as cartoons, animations, and games were rising in full swing, and the art field explored its own aesthetics through Monoha while actively embracing advanced art such as Western pop art. In 1997, at the age of 20, Takeru went to New York to learn painting in earnest. He was fascinated by print and street art and acquired various cultures in the United States for three years. Through this, he began to pioneer his own unique path. After returning to Japan in 2000, he wanted to start working in different spaces to pioneer a new approach instead of holding exhibitions in traditional galleries, and his activities that disturb the strict rules of the existing art field are still repeated these days in various ways. Therefore, his work shows an unpredictably diverse spectrum, and people call such activities of his “NEW ART.”

According to art historical evaluation, his work is considered an extension of “Pop Art.” However, unlike previous pop art, which used the motif of a standardized icon of the public like Marilyn Monroe, Takeru focuses on the “fandom” and “fantasy” of individuals living in this era and produces works based on it.[1]. It is not difficult to understand Amano’s aesthetics if we recognize that contemporary art has changed to “citation and re-citation”[2] rather than “creation” and that the theme has been changed from “grand narratives” to “little narratives.” [3] Takeru is pioneering by capturing this sensibly. It is also noteworthy in this context that he deals only with stories about himself and the personal relationships and reality surrounding him, rather than revealing political or religious messages, working inspired by social media such as Instagram. Interestingly, unlike pop art in the past, which began with the aim of breaking the boundaries between high and low cultures but eventually permeated into high culture and lost its way, Takeru clearly understands his base and does not repeat the mistakes of his predecessors. He truly respects the tastes and fantasies of each younger generation and uses them as an indicator to pioneer a new world.

Takeru is widely known for his “VENUS” series, in which he paints women with neat lines on clean backgrounds such as yellow and pink. However, if you examine thoroughly at his works, you can see that there are various works in addition to the “VENUS” series. He uses simple lines like “VENUS” to bring animals and still objects such as dogs or lemons to the screen and paints skeletons reminiscent of Vanitas still life paintings, one of the formative languages of the Baroque era. Sometimes he presents landscapes finished with rough brushwork, which shows his remarkable painting skill. In addition to his paintings, Takeru has recently been experimenting with various media, including big sculptures, art toys, air-spray works, and even NFTs. Also, he works as a designer, making album covers for CDs or LPs of famous artists or collaborating with fashion brands, such as Yohji Yamamoto, a representative fashion designer in Asia, using his artistic identity.

Takeru is an artist who has already secured a large number of fans in Korea since he was introduced through the art fair. However, it was regrettable that there was no opportunity to take a closer look at the world of his artwork through an exhibition. This first official solo exhibition of Amano Takeru will become an opportunity to confirm his colorful world of art and, at the same time, learn about his philosophy in depth.

[1] “In the case of Takeru’s images of women, he melts and mixes scenes from Manga or Greek/Roman sculptures, sometimes even contemporary girl groups, on the screen. Through this, Takeru represents today’s younger generation, whom each seek their hobbies. That is the discrimination point between past pop art that contained consistent and standardized tastes of the public, including Marilyn Monroe and Takeru. Takeru’s “New Pop Art” sincerely captures the dreams and fantasies of individual young generations.” <Jinseop Song, The Challenge of New Art: Takeru Amano, 2021>.

[2] Many authors who have led art theory since the 1960s, including Hal Foster, Fredric Jameson, and Craig Owens, point out from various angles that postmodern artworks are in “citation” rather than “creation,” using terms such as “Parody,” “Pastiche,” and “Allegory.”

[3] Lyotard, a representative theorist of postmodernism, pointed out that postmodernism originated from “incredulity towards metanarratives,” and said that the future will now be an era of “fragmented various small stories and “grand narratives” will be collapsed.” <Refer to 『The Postmodern Condition』 (1979) by Jean-François Lyotard, translated by Hyun-bok Lee, Seokwangsa, 1992, p.63>