As we looked at past works together, we discussed the sheer scale of the pieces and the fascinating way they change depending on the perspective and the interplay of light and shadow, and our conversation eventually drifted to art in general.

Shimaji: "Is there a painter you like the most?"

Imanishi : "There are so many, so it's hard to choose just one..."

Shimaji : "However, I was inspired by Utagawa Hiroshige, the artist of the Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō, whom we talked about earlier. I felt that if I depicted the dots, people's imaginations would then connect the rest."


Imanishi: "Yes, I think that's how a certain image can be formed."

While looking at his early works on his smartphone, Imanishi spoke one after another, saying the following:
Imanishi : "Ink is a material that the Japanese have studied for a long time, but there are actually two types: oil soot ink and pine soot ink."
There are reddish-black and bluish-black inks, and I use both of them when creating ink paintings. I'm trying to see if I can incorporate them effectively into my work. In my new pieces, I've tried adding purple, and I'm experimenting to create more interesting and free-flowing paintings.
My latest work depicts lightning. The brushstrokes have a nice texture; from a distance, it looks like lightning, but up close, it has a thick, almost swirling quality, as if the paint is spilling and falling.

Shimaji: "That's an amazing technique!"

Imanishi : "I might be the only painter who uses a brush to gouge things out, or even paints with this kind of concept in mind."

Shimaji : "Amazing! He's a rising star!"

NEXT> The encounter with Nichido Gallery, which discovered Imanishi ---