PRINTEXHIBITED:
1000 Self-Portraits , Mizuma Action, Tokyo, July 26-August 26, 2006
1000 Self-Portraits , Mizuma Action, Tokyo, July 26-August 26, 2006
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Kikazaru (Three Wise Monkeys : Hears no Evil)
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2006 Pencil on paper 183 x 141 cm
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Estimate
340,000 - 500,000 87,000 - 129,000 11,300 - 16,600
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Sold Price
336,000 87,047 11,163
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Inquiry
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Catalogue Note:
KIKAZARU (THREE WISE MONKEYS : HEARS NO EVIL)
YAMAMOTO RYUKI
Yamamoto Ryuki was born in Ise, Mie Prefecture, Japan in 1976. He received the Winner's Award at URBANART #6 in 1997. He graduated with a BA from Tokyo Zokei University in 2001. In 2005, he received the 8th Taro Okamoto Memorial Award for Contemporary Art - Outstanding Award. From 2011-2014, he was invited and sponsored by the POLA Art Foundation (Japan) to study art in Beijing; during this period, he also held numerous solo exhibitions in Japan, Beijing, and Shanghai. In most of Yamamoto Ryuki's works, he uses his own portrait as the subject. This had led to his paintings expressing his personal style, while preserving the appellation of the reproduced self-portrait. During his time in Beijing, he had many levels of exchanges with Chinese contemporary art. This has imbued his works with a painterly style that express both traditional culture and contemporary art.
Kikazaru (Three Wise Monkeys: Hears no Evil) continues in the artist's self portrait style. The painting is of an expression taken from Three Mystic Apes Mythology: see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil, do no evil. The painting depicts the part of hear no evil and the artist has used a hands-on and personal approach to interpret this ancient teaching. This saying teaches us that we should not look at things lacking in propriety, listen to things lacking in propriety, say things that are lacking in propriety, or do things that are lacking in propriety. The artist has incorporated traditional Confucian teachings into new art creations. The naked male figure breaks free from the nudity taboos that Asian people have held since ancient times. The light-source shines on the left shoulder of the male figure who is also the center of the painting. Visually, it symbolizes an oppression from which it is difficult to break free, and adds a powerful sense of impact to the imagery. The innate energy of the work surpasses the boundaries of time. With a frank directness, it depicts a gradually blurring sense of self — a sense that each of us experiences, in today's rapidly advancing society, where nothing goes as we wish due to disconnection with our environment. In trying to establish the link between people and people, people and the environment, the self is lost instead. Kikazaru, or hear no evil, expresses the artist's belief that only when we fully understand ourselves is it then be possible to truly understand our environment and thus live together in harmony.
YAMAMOTO RYUKI
Yamamoto Ryuki was born in Ise, Mie Prefecture, Japan in 1976. He received the Winner's Award at URBANART #6 in 1997. He graduated with a BA from Tokyo Zokei University in 2001. In 2005, he received the 8th Taro Okamoto Memorial Award for Contemporary Art - Outstanding Award. From 2011-2014, he was invited and sponsored by the POLA Art Foundation (Japan) to study art in Beijing; during this period, he also held numerous solo exhibitions in Japan, Beijing, and Shanghai. In most of Yamamoto Ryuki's works, he uses his own portrait as the subject. This had led to his paintings expressing his personal style, while preserving the appellation of the reproduced self-portrait. During his time in Beijing, he had many levels of exchanges with Chinese contemporary art. This has imbued his works with a painterly style that express both traditional culture and contemporary art.
Kikazaru (Three Wise Monkeys: Hears no Evil) continues in the artist's self portrait style. The painting is of an expression taken from Three Mystic Apes Mythology: see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil, do no evil. The painting depicts the part of hear no evil and the artist has used a hands-on and personal approach to interpret this ancient teaching. This saying teaches us that we should not look at things lacking in propriety, listen to things lacking in propriety, say things that are lacking in propriety, or do things that are lacking in propriety. The artist has incorporated traditional Confucian teachings into new art creations. The naked male figure breaks free from the nudity taboos that Asian people have held since ancient times. The light-source shines on the left shoulder of the male figure who is also the center of the painting. Visually, it symbolizes an oppression from which it is difficult to break free, and adds a powerful sense of impact to the imagery. The innate energy of the work surpasses the boundaries of time. With a frank directness, it depicts a gradually blurring sense of self — a sense that each of us experiences, in today's rapidly advancing society, where nothing goes as we wish due to disconnection with our environment. In trying to establish the link between people and people, people and the environment, the self is lost instead. Kikazaru, or hear no evil, expresses the artist's belief that only when we fully understand ourselves is it then be possible to truly understand our environment and thus live together in harmony.