Confirming himself again as one of the leading artists of the new visionary figurative art worldwide, Kazuki Takamatsu presents his third solo show at Dorothy Circus Gallery with a collection of 16 brand new artworks to be displayed both in our historical premises in Rome and in our gallery based in Notting Hill, London. 12 paintings will be shown in Rome and 4 in London (together with a masterpiece from a previous series), creating a virtual and emotional bond between the two galleries that introduces the audience to a new journey through Italy and the UK.

Following the group show Pages from Mind Travellers Diaries at DCG London, which presented him as one of the main gallery artists who participated in the writing of DCG’s history, the Japanese Takamatsu introduces us to a voyage through present and future, giving a glimpse of how it is pos-sible to think of tomorrow in an innovative and aesthetic way.

Developing even further his iconic style, Kazuki Takamatsu paints young girls that silently speak to the beholder through a mysterious but evocative language. Their faces remain pure and simple, while their hairstyles and clothes become more complex and detailed, demonstrating the artist’s attention to peculiarities that has always been typical of Asian art. The dark and empty backgrounds contrib-ute to make the figures stand out and take predominance, while flows of emotion resound in the timeless scenes.

In addition to these, a red-coloured work created exceptionally for Dorothy Circus Gallery Rome sticks out among the other paintings. Echoing the red velvet walls of the gallery, this painting push-es forward towards new experimentations and practices developed by Takamatsu in his touching ar-tistic oeuvre.

Memories from the past and hopes for the future dwell in all the pictures and softly move from one character to another. The girls either face the passing of time or turn around to search for the un-known possibilities of tomorrow. These memories may be happy or sad, deep or careless, reflecting not only each character’s expectations, but also a common experience felt by a country’s population – Japan, in particular.

Takamatsu connects through the bridge of art the Western and Eastern traditions, as well as the world of digital art with important and difficult themes that are extremely contemporary. This dou-ble solo show represents thus an incredible occasion for the Italian and English public to admire the aesthetic and thematic developments of a beautifully complex artist, renowned and beloved on an international basis.

Kazuki Takamatsu was born in Japan in 1978, in a country that is characteristic for its picturesque landscapes and the high rate of suicide, a contrasting duality that contributes to shape the beautiful melancholy permeating the artist’s work.

He attended the Department of Oil Painting at Tohoku University of Art & Design and graduated in 2001. Takamatsu currently lives and works in Sendai, which was devastated by the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in 2011. The event can still be grasped in Takamatsu’s work, in which he mixes sorrow with hope in an endless spiral of emotions.

Takamatsu’s paintings, inspired by Japanese girl’s comics, are created through layers of translucent, white gouache that appear to float over his black backgrounds. His hologram-like, female figures look as if they were digital, though they are executed entirely by hand.

That is because the artist uses a depth mapping software for inspiration for his images and carefully renders his figures as if they were parcelled into pixels. His technique fuses classic drawing, airbrush and gouache painting with computer graphics. Through this method, each individual pixel becomes a shade of grey, in proportion with the distance from which the viewer sees it.

Kazuki Takamatsu has exhibited all over the world, in galleries based in Asia, USA and Europe. Among his recent achievements are his publications there is his monograph “Hello Here I am”, and his participation in “Turn the Page” at The Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) and “Cross The Streets” exhibition held at MACRO Museum of Contemporary Art in Rome Italy in 2017.

Dorothy Circus Gallery website: dorothycircusgallery.com

Kazuki Takamatsu website: kazukitakamatsu.com