Takeru Amano Exhibition "Venus" Interview with Takeru Amano (2/3)

―There are about 30 new works for this exhibition, but how long will these works be?

Amano: It's about six months. When I think about it again, I really like painting. I'm doing it with fun. But for me, it's different from painting and exhibition. Even if it is not conveyed by a single picture, it is possible to invite the story by gathering pictures at the exhibition. Therefore, the exhibition is thinking about the spatial composition by itself as much as possible. This time, we set up together with the staff of Shinsaibashi PARCO, and the fun was good. From there, some people may come up with ideas and notice the fun of art.

―Again, all of this VENUS series have elongated eyes and a single word mouth. First of all, they try to recognize their face. However, when I look at it for a while, it seems that it looks like a Gestalt decay, for example, a sea of color divided by curves. This time, the size of the work may be large.

Amano: I know. I can say it's a color sea. But even when the Gestalt collapses, it must be beautiful. If it is not beautiful even if it is not visible to the face, it is meaningless. Good pictures should be beautiful because the whole balance is balanced. For me, there are places where you are aiming for it.

―Are there any rules set in the VENUS series works?

Amano: Are you deciding whether it is cute or not? That's right. There is, of course, your taste and time. Why do you sometimes have black hair at overseas exhibitions? I’m often asked, and don’t black people paint? It is also said. But with regard to VENUS, I would like to eliminate as much message as possible. Are you cute for yourself? I'm going to do it. Recently, I painted it in Ukrainian color as a charity, but I would like to eliminate messages from VENUS as much as possible.

―Is the VENUS graffiti painted with spray a prototype of VENUS works drawn with acrylic?

Amano: No, it's the opposite. Graffiti is a development form from acrylic in experiments. This is an experiment that is fresh for myself and expands the range of VENUS.

―The VENUS series is not too close to the world of anime, so to speak, and its graffiti experiment is completely different from street culture. It seems that you can see the drawing unique to Mr. Amano here.

Amano: That's right. It's important to draw your own lines. It's not street art, and I think it shouldn't be an anime. It is important not to be too close to either side. At first glance, even children can draw, but from what angle can you see? And I've been thinking about what I need and what I don't need. I'm not too close to any world, I'm careful about drawing various lines.