8/7/2021 At Exhibition; "A Painter's Works and Me

Received an invitation to the "35th Anniversary Japan-Western Exhibition (2021)" at the Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts. On July 21st, I went to the museum at Tennoji in Osaka with a feeling of excitement that I could not understand until I saw the painting by my favorite painter on the spot, titled "In Search of Ancient Light". When I slowly walked around the exhibition hall, which has about 150 works (all approx. 60 x 40 inches of size) and stood in front of the work I was looking for, I felt something strange and peaceful, or a fusion of the European landscape I had seen before and the figurative landscape I imagined from it. Drawn into and I spent a luxurious time enjoying the work quietly for a while.

"In Search of Ancient Light"

The first time I encountered this painter's work was three years ago at a solo exhibition of this painter's landscape painting held at a department store in Umeda, Osaka. Attracted to a unique world of "a gentle fantasy but that is not a fantasy painting,” I went to see exhibited works at subsequent exhibitions at Nishi Tenma in Osaka, an art gallery in Kobe, and again solo exhibitions at a department store in Umeda, Osaka last year.

"Lakeside Morning"

As a painting enthusiast, especially during my nine years at work in Germany and New York and while I was also in business trips, I visited museums and exhibitions in Paris, London, Amsterdam, Wien, Milan, Florence, Venice, Madrid, Chicago, Boston and so forth whenever I had an opportunity to do so. In 2018 I traveled to Russia that I had never had an opportunity and visited Hermitage in St. Petersburg. After this trip, I felt a sense of accomplishment of my going around museums of the world.

"By the Time Autumn Deepens" decorates my room in Takarazuka

After encountering this artist's work, I began to want to have my favorite painting in my possession, and finally I was able to realize that dream at a solo exhibition at a department store in Umeda, Osaka last year. The name of the painter is Mari Ariga. When we appreciate the painting, we normally like to hear the story behind the painting from the artist. Recently, I have come to realize that it is a luxury and most enjoyable time to be able to talk to artists at the exhibitions when possible.