| It can be said that the modern age is an age of self-discovery, a time to dispose of the feudalistic concept of one’s existence as an element of a community and to seek a modern form of self, which is separate from others. Various experiments were attempted in the process of achieving this. Some pronounced that “God is dead,” while others raised their sense of self with attachment to personal possessions. However, this was merely the first step towards escaping feudalism and modernizing one’s consciousness. After this, people found themselves caught up in a storm of nationalism and totalitarianism, centering on developed countries. | 
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It can be said that the modern age is an age of self-discovery, a time to dispose of the feudalistic concept of one’s existence as an element of a community and to seek a modern form of self, which is separate from others. Various experiments were attempted in the process of achieving this. Some pronounced that “God is dead,” while others raised their sense of self with attachment to personal possessions.
However, this was merely the first step towards escaping feudalism and modernizing one’s consciousness. After this, people found themselves caught up in a storm of nationalism and totalitarianism, centering on developed countries. While going through this ordeal, albeit slowly, people started to develop a sense of consciousness that is based on seeing things with oneself at the center.
Artistic expression played a large part in this social phenomenon. Take for example the rules of perspective, which, since the modern age, have been accepted by numerous modernizing countries, not only Europe. That technique of narrowing all perspectives down to one helped overcome differences in cultures to become an extremely effective methodology for attaining an objective perspective.
The figurative arts soon set upon the road to diversification. This gave birth to those who deliberately distance the subject of their works from topics that people can relate to, those that scientifically analyze color, those that vent out emotions using intense color, those that try to express themselves using only geometric lines, and so forth.
One of the methods often used for this purpose is “déformer.” This term refers to the technique of deliberately editing and distorting a subject when it is visualized, rather than depicting it as it is. This enables the characteristics of that subject to stand out and enhances the presence of the qualities of its creator.
One can frequently see the déformer technique by just glancing at the artworks of today, regardless of the region or ethnicity of the artist. They select something that appears in front of them as the motif, give it an original interpretation to stylize it, and thus create a new figurative world. The method of taking a specific object and transforming it can be seen no matter where one goes around the world. There are also numerous works that take a single line or shape and extend it to create a world like that of another dimension. Others generate various forms based on letters, the medium for conveying meaning.
In this exhibition, we introduce works based on physical objects, abstract forms, and letters, all of which are created using this technique of déformer so frequently employed in the artistic expressions of modern times.
Based on Physical Objects
He Diqiu is a young sculptor based in Shanghai. He places group human figures with a political flavor and uses perspective to emphasize their situations. In the past, he often used historical scenes but, in recent years, he has turned to creating works using satirical scenes directed towards capitalist society as their motif.
Tomita Yukiko is a painter based in Tokyo. She always paints representational motifs. Huge scenes are captured in miniscule canvases and tiny plants are painted all over her larger canvases. To those that view her work, this differing of the scale of the subjects greatly from their original sizes gives an abstract impression.
Yoshino Tatsumi is an artist based in Tokyo that continues to release sculpture works based on animal motifs. His dog series, which started in the 80s, gathered particular attention. It contained numerous variations on the dog theme such as a dog wandering about on its hind legs, a dog with two heads and a dog with its body twisted like a corkscrew. These sculptures can also be seen metaphorically as representing the creator himself. In recent years, his works have also featured animals with their innards exposed—as if they were peeled like a banana—which forms a new development in his art.
Based On Abstract Forms
Ding Yi is a painter based in Shanghai. He debuted with a work in which he filled in a whole screen by only drawing marks. He started off drawing a representational picture, but felt oppressed by the factitious creation process and ended up seeking unrestricted expression that is born from simple repetition. While repeatedly drawing simple symbols on cloth woven with abstract patterns, a visual sensation that transcends that of the cloth appeared on the surface. There, he found a vibrant reality that surpasses that created from intentional expression. In recent years, Ding has been creating works based on the theme of cities that continue to grow like living organisms.
Toyama Kanae is a painter based in Tokyo. She started off producing installations that depict atmosphere and depth using cloth, but, from the late 80s on, she has switched to painting pictures and has started to release works based only on large strokes. After that, Toyama studied abroad in France and, influenced by Support/Surface thinking, started developing a style of work that emphasizes the raw feeling of the paint and canvas, as well as the act of painting itself. In contrast with this bold expression, her carefully selected materials and finely calculated strokes invoke the delicate flow of light and air on a flat canvas.
Based On Letters
Wang Tiande is an artist based in Paris. He started his activities as an artist by producing calligraphic works, but first drew attention with his art consisting of tables and chairs completely covered with paper upon which abstract ink drawings were placed. After this, Wang started using traditional Chinese clothes made of layered cotton and silk as his works. He first draws poetry and landscapes on the base layer of cotton and then continues to write characters on the upper layer of transparent silk, while scorching it with the flame of a cigarette. These two layers are then combined to create a work of art. The theme of traditional art transforms into a refined, modern form of expression due to his composition and use of materials. Wang has recently been using the effects of ink and burn marks to create landscapes.
Liu Xuguang is a multimedia artist operating in Beijing. He has been experimenting with ink from an early stage. Upon studying abroad in Japan, he met with conceptual forms of expression and started to produce works that value spirituality. Upon returning to China, he took advantage of letters to pursue forms that arise from the repetition of dismantling and recursion. He uses ink, paint and mineral substances to create layers of simple symbols and then confronts the misalignment and variation in quality that ensues in an attempt to discover the universal principles connecting the concept of self and nature.
These artists do use the figurative arts to build visual interpretations of their viewpoints, but this certainly does not mean that the internal characteristics of these artists are being directly expressed to the outside world. Rather, they use the technique of déformer to give birth to original figurations, to reflectively transform their internal spirituality into something more autonomous. In other words, these artists see their works as a mirror that reflects their own selves, but they try to morph this aspect of their art into a form that is even more true to their identity. This is the natural expression of the desire for today’s artists to subtly sense the changes of the times in order to establish a new sense of self.
Those involved in this exhibition are Chinese and Japanese artists attempting to accomplish this stylization with a strong will. However, even though all these works have been created with the same purpose in mind, inevitable regional and cultural differences are sure to arise. Hopefully however, this will enable Japan and China to utilize such diversity to exhibit the method of attaining a common goal.
