Shota Nakamura
I keep running across the works of Shota Nakamura. I like how he is pulling from the traditions of Bonnard and Vuillard. I like his muddy pallet.
His work seems to be:
Exploring color and mark making in subdued tones.
Looking at large spaces (landscapes) in a flattened manner.
Looking at human interaction.
Lets take a look at my current favorite Nakmura painting.
I have to admit, I dismissed this work at first. It takes a moment of reflection to first see this picture before you realize what your looking at. Kind of like the better Bonnard and Vuillard paintings.
Landscape - 2024
Composition: The image is simple. What looks to me like a young man has his head turned away from the viewer. He seems to be leaning against a tree and is looking out at a landscape…
I think the landscape composition is pretty good. I like the introduction of the figure in the foreground. To me, I would have liked to have seen a bit more connectedness between the guy in front and the grass/field/something.
Color: The colors are so muted. Yet they are so sophisticated. I’ve been getting into the artist Gottlieb lately and his use of color is so unorthodox. I feel that way about Nakamuras painting here as well.
There are no highlights other than the little snow or off white on the tops of the mountains.
There is no sunlight bouncing around in the foreground.
Its really flat. (good, on its way to being great).
Mark Making: Nakamura’s brushmarks are a mix of hesitant and confident. I can see places (like that tree/thing the guy is leaning against) where the brushmarks are just not working. But elsewhere (the face, the landscape, the sky) you can see Nakamura’s mind working. He is thinking about how he is approaching the different places he is working on. This is what is setting him apart for me. Most artists paint the entire painting with one mindset. The way I’m reading this is Nakamura is looking at, for example the mountain in the background, and is fully thinking about the mountain, hmmm… not saying this well (come back and say why this is his strength).
So what I really like about this piece and a few others of his work is how explosive the potential Nakamura has is… He is still raw. I don’t think he has fully developed into the mature artist I see him becoming (I’m fully projecting here). There is enough evidence though to say “wow, this is a waking giant”.
Cliffs Current Take:
I feel like Nakamura still needs more time to explore and grow as an artist. When I look at what he is doing, I have concerns because some of it is really bad.
What I do like is Nakamura’s sensibility. This is someone I plan on coming back to again in the future. If I had money enough to invest in the future of a few artists, this would be one of them.