Kei Aoi is an artist who creates mainly realistic paintings based on the concept of "realism infused with life and space, and realism and beauty found by confronting realism.Kei Aoi is an artist who mainly creates realistic paintings based on the concept of "realism infused with life and space, and realism and beauty found by confronting realism.

In her solo exhibition "Entanglement of Things" currently being held at TRiCERA, she is challenging herself to create a new style, including works that fuse figuration and abstraction. How did she arrive at her new style of expression?

In this article, we interview Kei Aoi to learn more about the works on display in this exhibition and her future works.

About Kei Aoi

Kei Aoi is an artist born in Gifu Prefecture.

Self-taught in painting, he began his career as a realistic painter, and was selected for the 4th Hoki Museum Grand Prize. In pursuing realism, he began to focus on "nature" and "self" which is formed by the intertwining of "nature" and further deepened his contemplation of "self" and "ego.

In recent years, as Aoi's unique worldview has deepened, she has continued to create ambitious works that combine abstraction and figuration, such as the marbled patterns she has created.

As a painter, the challenge of expressing the true nature of images in painting: "River

─ ─ For your solo exhibition "Entanglement of Things," you have created four works that combine landscapes and marbles, such as "River" and "After the Rain. Is there a particular land that served as a model for this series?


Installation view

　Each of these four works depicts a landscape that I found beautiful in Gifu Prefecture, where I live. Perhaps because I was born and raised in an inland prefecture, I am more attracted to rivers than to the sea.


The River

─ The sparkling light on the surface of the water in "River" shows the high level of Aoi's photorealistic skills. Even more impressive are the colorful marble patterns that appear in the upper right and lower left of the picture. Why did you choose this type of screen composition?

　I painted this work because I felt that when the world entered my eyes and became an image, the image was too neat. Light is supposed to be divided into various colors, but the moment it enters our eyes, it is perceived as an image that is organized and free of noise.

　However, I think that painters are skilled at finding the diffuse reflections of light that appear when certain conditions are met, such as oil leaking into the ocean or rainbows, which are the true nature of images. I myself, as well as the impressionists of the 19th century, did the same, and that's why they used various colors to represent light.

　So in this work, I challenged myself to extract and depict such colors of light. I also have the image of expressing the world behind the scenes in marble.


River" (partial)

─ ─ How did you use the marbling technique for "River"?

　When I create a work of art, I first spread acrylic paint mixed with medium* to create a marbled pattern. Then, I paint the landscape part in oil on top of the marble. Many people are surprised when I explain this to my clients at galleries, as they often think that I add the marbling on top of the finished landscape in oil paint.
* An additive on a paste that is mixed with acrylic paint. It is used to add luster and lift the paint.


After the Rain

─ ─ In this series, you created "River" first, followed by "Sunny Day", "After the Rain", and "Cloudy Day".

　There is a little gap between the production of "River" and the other three works, so I think my approach has changed a little.
　For example, in "River," I used marbling to express the diffuse reflection of light from the surface of the water, but in "After the Rain," I drew marbles using only the colors extracted from the area under the theme of "What is hidden in a certain part of this landscape divided by squares? Furthermore, in "After the Rain," I personally feel that it was a challenge to express the entire lower part of the screen in marble.

Capturing "nature" outside the "ego": "Yggdrasill

Yggdrasill

─ ─ You also exhibited a series of nine works, "Yggdrasill" in this exhibition. What is the concept behind this work?

　I created "Yggdrasill" with the idea of depicting the complexity of the world. Yggdrasill, from which the title comes, is a world tree in Norse mythology that encompasses nine worlds.
　This work has a three-layered structure: the first is a jet-black "nothingness," the second is "Mino Washi" representing the rules woven by the universe, and the third is a marble pattern of acrylic paints representing chaos.

─ ─ I understand that you used a variety of materials, but what was your production method?

　The base of the panel is painted in black, and Mino Washi is embedded using medium. It is like a collage.


Yggdrasill" (portion)

─ ─ Why did you use Mino Washi?

　A friend of my grandfather used Mino Washi to make lanterns. I wanted to incorporate the traditional craft of Gifu, where I am from, into art, so I consulted with that person and produced it from Mino Washi itself.

─ ─ You produced it yourself from the Mino Washi, did you?

　Yes, it is. Briefly explaining, the Mino Washi is produced by filtering the raw material kouzo made into a liquid state. Furthermore, an original pattern was attached to the Mino Washi this time. When a pattern mold is placed on the made paper and water is poured over it, the pattern comes out because it becomes thin except for the part where the mold is located. For this pattern, I felt that I wanted to create a pattern created by nature, so I decided on a geometric pattern.

I am attracted to motifs that combine symmetrical beauty and ugliness: "Flowers and Moths

Flowers and Moths



Leftover

─ ─ You painted "Flowers and Moths" in this solo exhibition and"Leftover," which was based on the wings of bellbirds, in your solo exhibition "Peek" held at TRiCERA last year.

　I have always tended to be attracted to plain insects. I believe that in painting, neither beauty nor ugliness is interesting, and that the two must coexist like yin and yang. In this respect, I am attracted to insects because they are symmetrical designs that embody the rules of nature, and despite their inherent beauty, they can also be ugly.

Encouraged to take a step forward: "Still Got My Soul

Still Got My Soul

─ Is there a work in this exhibition that you are most attached to?

　I would have to say "Still Got My Soul". I have always lacked self-confidence, and my first solo exhibition was held in 2021, but it was made possible by the encouragement of the people around me. So I believe that I have been supported by others in my life.

　On the other hand, I did not seem to be able to build a strong identity in my childhood, and I was recently diagnosed with "Attachment Disorder" and was analyzed as "you don't have a self. It seems that I don't have a very strong will of my own, or rather, I seem to merge with nature and others around me very quickly.

　In "Still got my soul," two selves are depicted. The one on the left is me, but not myself, possessed by another person. On the other hand, the one on the right is the true self. I depicted the moment when you are encouraged by others to take the next step forward.

I want to pursue further expression.

─ I think you aimed for a fusion of figuration and abstraction this time, but do you have a vision for your future work?

　This time, I experimented with marbling in the "River" series, but I would like to go beyond this and pursue various forms of expression. Through my work, I hope to deepen my understanding of the relationship between "nature" and "myself," and the "self" and core "ego" within "myself," which was formed under the influence of nature.

Solo exhibition "Entanglement of Things" on view through 10/28 (Sat.)

9s Gallery is currently holding the exhibition "Entanglement of Things" from Friday, 2023/10/20 to Saturday, 2023/10/28.

This exhibition features a group of works created by Kei Aoi, who has been deepening his contemplation of "self" and "ego" by focusing on "nature" and "self," which is formed by the intertwining of "nature. The exhibition will feature a wide variety of themes, from works based on thorough observation of "nature" to works created in the process of confronting the "ego," which is the core of the "self.