The encounter with Nichido Gallery, which unearthed Imanishi

This happened at Imanishi's graduate school graduation exhibition. The person in charge of the contemporary art section of Nichido Gallery, nca | nichido contemporary art, saw a work created using this technique and was captivated. Apparently, Imanishi's work was the only one selected for exhibition at that time.

Imanishi : "This was one of my earliest works created using this technique. It was a large piece, 2 x 3 meters, with an airplane as its motif. It was so heavy that it required six men to lift and move it. That's unavoidable because I layered the oil paints."

Shimaji: "Could you also tell us about the artwork currently displayed in your salon?"

Imanishi : "This is a painting of fireworks, and the overhead lighting really brings out the three-dimensional effect of the brushstrokes. The lighting has a great influence, allowing for an interesting and new way of looking at the work, so I hope many people will come and see it."

Shimaji: "What emotions do you feel when you're creating your artwork?"


Imanishi : "It's similar to copying Buddhist scriptures. When I'm writing, I project the image onto a screen using a projector. I edit a photograph on my computer, convert it into dots, and then project that. I receive the light from the projector behind me and just keep carving. That goes on for more than 10 hours..."

Shimaji : "Is the motif a photograph or something?"

Imanishi: "I take landscapes and other images that I've photographed myself, process them on a computer, and then reduce them to just dots and lines before projecting them."

Shimaji: "That's something new. Isn't that beyond drawing?"

Imanishi : "We've had computers since we were little, so it didn't feel strange to us. I started out with paint on a canvas, so it didn't feel strange, or rather, I don't really remember why I chose that method..."

Shimaji : "Do you ever do sketches or drawings on a canvas?"

Imanishi : "I use a computer to draw the preliminary sketch. Then I project it onto the canvas and make corrections. It really feels like I'm drawing on a computer."

Shimaji : "So that's your method."

Imanishi : "There seem to be a lot of people around me who use this method. They think about it at the sketching stage, make a rough outline on the computer, and then project it and draw. The projector light is really strong, so it hurts your eyes though (laughs)."


Shimaji: "How about wearing sunglasses? The motif is already in my head, or rather, it's concrete, like I've taken a photograph of it."

Imanishi : "I choose things that fit the concept. I select things that are consistent with the concept and that I feel look good visually."
Next time, I'm thinking it would be interesting to draw something with a space theme, like black holes. It might be abstract, but I'd like to explore that further in the future.
Furthermore, I hope to discover other techniques as well. I might get tired of this technique in two years, so I want to discover new methods.

NEXT> Right now, I want to focus on what's in front of me.