PRINTCatalogue Note:
Born in Aichi Prefecture in 1973, Fukahori Ryusuke graduated from the Faculty of Art at Aichi Prefectural University of Fine Arts and Music with a major in Crafts Design. He was plummeted into the alltime low of his lifetime after quitting from a design company in 1999. In 2002, he began creating 3D painting and resin productions of goldfish, and has since completed many goldfish-related artworks. Even today, he continues to attempt at different styles of goldfish artistic creation.
The artist once said that in the valley of shadows when he gave up his job 16 years ago and had no foreseeable future prospects, it was the goldfish he kept that maintained his sanity, a red goldfish that didn’t really catch the eye. During the 7 years under his care, it had never been well fed nor taken good care of. Fukahori Ryusuke commented, Why had I never discovered its beauty? Goldfish can be good and
evil; they are the face of everything, and this is precisely what makes
them so appealing! With the elegant glow that had sustained the artist through his lack of confidence, this goldfish enables us see the existence of beauty and the belief of an inspiration.
Goldfish symbolizes "wealth" and "happiness." As the goldfish swims elegantly through the water, it exhibits to the world the beauty and charm of its every movement and posture. It is a fish to be appreciated, a fish that is inspiring, graceful, and auspicious all at the same time. Throughout the ages, craftsmen in Japan have been painting "goldfish" using a variety of methods and techniques. When we first look at the picture of a goldfish within a sake cup made by Fukahori Ryusuke, we cannot help but notice how small the space is in which they are confined and experience a flow of compassion. Only after reading the description do we learn that this goldfish is painted, not real. Seeing is not necessarily believing—especially in an age where all information appears to be true.
In terms of aesthetic conceptualization, Fukahori Ryusuke adopted the concept of "superflat" proposed by Takashi Murakami and combined it with the perspective method of traditional Japanese painting, or rather the "non-perspective method,” an approach that emphasizes the contours of objects and figures and outlines the "facet" seen from a particular vantage point within three-dimensional space. The goldfish in the water, swimming purposelessly between two and three-dimensional realms, is supposed to be three-dimensional and yet appears to be flat. This is precisely the inexpressible three-dimensional beauty that Fukahori Ryusuke hopes to create through his works.
To accomplish this stunning visual effect, the artist has to be extremely familiar with the movements and habits of goldfish, equipped with s t rong capabilities f o r t h ree-dimensional conceptualization, and able to develop a 3D layering technique with complex procedures so as to complete the many layers of the artwork that will later represent an integrated whole. The crafting process is also highly sophisticated. First, resin has to be poured into the container. After two days of drying, the patterns for the first layer－the fish's ventral fin—is painted onto the resin, and once that has dried, the second layer of resin is added. Through this complex sandwich technique, the intricate details of the goldfish are painted layer by layer. After the first layers have dried, the goldfish's belly is painted, followed by another layer of resin that is applied from the bottom. Once dried, the side fins are added, and the procedure is repeated until the dorsal fins are completed. The silhouette of the goldfish is thus delineated; little by little, each tiny detail in every single layeris exquisitely and vividly represented. The resulting artwork is a goldfish that, incredibly and amazingly, almost looks as if it could come to life!
The artist once said that in the valley of shadows when he gave up his job 16 years ago and had no foreseeable future prospects, it was the goldfish he kept that maintained his sanity, a red goldfish that didn’t really catch the eye. During the 7 years under his care, it had never been well fed nor taken good care of. Fukahori Ryusuke commented, Why had I never discovered its beauty? Goldfish can be good and
evil; they are the face of everything, and this is precisely what makes
them so appealing! With the elegant glow that had sustained the artist through his lack of confidence, this goldfish enables us see the existence of beauty and the belief of an inspiration.
Goldfish symbolizes "wealth" and "happiness." As the goldfish swims elegantly through the water, it exhibits to the world the beauty and charm of its every movement and posture. It is a fish to be appreciated, a fish that is inspiring, graceful, and auspicious all at the same time. Throughout the ages, craftsmen in Japan have been painting "goldfish" using a variety of methods and techniques. When we first look at the picture of a goldfish within a sake cup made by Fukahori Ryusuke, we cannot help but notice how small the space is in which they are confined and experience a flow of compassion. Only after reading the description do we learn that this goldfish is painted, not real. Seeing is not necessarily believing—especially in an age where all information appears to be true.
In terms of aesthetic conceptualization, Fukahori Ryusuke adopted the concept of "superflat" proposed by Takashi Murakami and combined it with the perspective method of traditional Japanese painting, or rather the "non-perspective method,” an approach that emphasizes the contours of objects and figures and outlines the "facet" seen from a particular vantage point within three-dimensional space. The goldfish in the water, swimming purposelessly between two and three-dimensional realms, is supposed to be three-dimensional and yet appears to be flat. This is precisely the inexpressible three-dimensional beauty that Fukahori Ryusuke hopes to create through his works.
To accomplish this stunning visual effect, the artist has to be extremely familiar with the movements and habits of goldfish, equipped with s t rong capabilities f o r t h ree-dimensional conceptualization, and able to develop a 3D layering technique with complex procedures so as to complete the many layers of the artwork that will later represent an integrated whole. The crafting process is also highly sophisticated. First, resin has to be poured into the container. After two days of drying, the patterns for the first layer－the fish's ventral fin—is painted onto the resin, and once that has dried, the second layer of resin is added. Through this complex sandwich technique, the intricate details of the goldfish are painted layer by layer. After the first layers have dried, the goldfish's belly is painted, followed by another layer of resin that is applied from the bottom. Once dried, the side fins are added, and the procedure is repeated until the dorsal fins are completed. The silhouette of the goldfish is thus delineated; little by little, each tiny detail in every single layeris exquisitely and vividly represented. The resulting artwork is a goldfish that, incredibly and amazingly, almost looks as if it could come to life!