O JUN’s Exhibition “Unfinished Creation”（TOKYO）

Mizuma Art Gallery presents O JUN’s exhibition “Unfinished Creation” on Wednesday, 13^th November 2019. This exhibition being the first solo show in three years, centers around new oil painting works.

Right now, I am in front of an unfinished painting. The painting that is unfinished has some sort of shapes, or has things that does not become any shape, and it has colors, and it has paint with thick parts and thin parts, and there are brush marks and scratches left over where those paints were applied. Right now, as I look at the painting face to face, I also have a shape of a body, skin texture and skin tone, and if I am wearing clothes, then the feel of the material varies, and even the shirts, pants, and shoes that I wear have shapes and colors. These are things that face each other. There is myself who bears this relationship, and there is the painting in front of me, that also bears the relationship. It is difficult to give an analogy to this sensation that appears vaguely in front of us. It is not about how I perceive the work certain ways, but it is about the feeling that we both exist. And in that place, the shapes, colors, qualities, or textures is absent. But, as soon as I start drawing (or come in contact with the work), then this feeling instantly disappears.       

O JUN

Up until now, O JUN has created works on common everyday motifs of people, objects, and landscapes using various mediums such as oil paint, pencils, crayons, pigments, and watercolors.

Although he doesn’t choose any stand-out sceneries, motifs, or dramatic one cut scenes, people are still attracted to his paintings. It might be because we are able to grasp in full, O JUN’s intentions in his act to “draw” from things like the colors of shadow within brightness, to vivid feelings of brush and paint, and echoes of his contemplations left on the surface by tip of his brush.

He himself talks about drawing and the process: “It is not about the meaning, or the issues of color and shape, nor about which gets prioritized. It’s not about the ‘mishmash’ of material, paint, and image.” Furthermore, he says “I avoid falling into the trend of abstract and figurative painting, and have always tried to walk my own path.”

For this time, O JUN draws on the theme of still life, people, and landscapes; often the foundation of painting subjects, in large, medium, and small sizes, yet presents his work not as an extension to his predecessors, but entirely unique to himself.

Entitled “Unfinished Creation,” this exhibition depicts an uneasy but intimate exchange between the painter and the painting, and it is an exhibition that peeks into the intimacy of his works. We welcome you to view the new works by O JUN who continues to evolve by completely freeing himself in his act to draw.