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EXHIBITION

The 13th “1_WALL” Graphics Competition Grand Prize Winner

Norio Taniguchi Exhibition: “Faded Scene”

  • DATES : Tue. June 28 - Fri. July 15, 2016
  • HOURS : 11:00a.m.-7:00p.m.
  • Closed Sundays. Admission free.
    *On July 9 (Sat), because of the scheduled Talk Event starting at 4:00 p.m., visitors will be unable to view the exhibition between 3:50 p.m. and approximately 5:30 p.m.

Norio Taniguchi captured the Grand Prize in the 13th “1_WALL” Graphics Exhibition competition (2015) for his works etched in the blocks traditionally used in making woodblock prints, his motifs inspired by old historic ruins, ancient wall paintings, or at times his own imaginings. His prize-winning works were highly acclaimed for the way they evoke role-playing video games, his themes only a fine line away from seeming outdated but actually well suited to current times.

Today Taniguchi’s creative themes are tales he says others have forgotten and that only he now knows. His works, which mix together motifs of all times and places conceived from folklore and rituals found worldwide, are imbued simultaneously with feelings of nostalgia and with new scenes of a kind never seen before. The subjects he depicts with fine lines – whether leopards, snakes, or angels – have no apparent relationship to one another, leaving room for all manner of interpretations and stirring the imagination of the viewer. “So long as I can create works true to myself, it doesn’t matter what materials or supports I use,” he says. Taniguchi thus chooses whatever method suits the image he is seeking in a particular work, whether it be oil paints, watercolor, drawing, print or whatever. In the free and dignified lines common to all his works we can see how Taniguchi masterfully employs a wealth of different methods, enjoying himself all the while.

This exhibition will feature Taniguchi’s new prints as well as his oil paintings and drawings. We eagerly invite visitors to come and see how Taniguchi has developed in the year since he won his Grand Prize.

Norio Taniguchi

Born in Fukuoka Prefecture in 1988. Graduated from Tokyo Zokei University.

Message from the Artist

The story begins the moment I draw the first line on a blank surface. I don’t have a clear composition or style of motif in mind from the outset; that first line is capable of being reborn into anything: a person, a leopard, a stone.

Wavering lines that seem to float on the surface are the movements in the scene I’m depicting: the direction the wind is blowing, the flow of water.

The story will still continue.

Norio Taniguchi

 

Message from One of the Judges

Norio Taniguchi’s works are created using a broad variety of materials and supports. Clearly, there is nothing unusual about a creative style that employs diverse media of expression. But Taniguchi’s works have a definitive strength – that strength being an “old-fashioned” style. His old-fashioned ambience, more profound than nostalgia, stirs the primordial power of the act of “drawing” that has been imbued in humans as an embodiment ever since ancient man first confronted nature, and his works appeal to us for their strength in the present progressive form.

Daijiro Ohara (graphic designer)

 

Talk Event
July 9 (Sat), 2016 4:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.

Opening Party
June 28 (fri), 2016 7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.

Organizer: Guardian Garden