Kentaro Okumura : Rawness

CHAPTER 6 is honored to present the solo exhibition of artist Kentaro Okumura: Rawness. Kentaro’s creation begins with a profound desire to observe and articulate things. His paintings draw inspiration from daily experiences-people, the light and color of objects, and even stains on walls. He views painting as a psychological journey, seeking to capture the essence of these experiences or impressions and transforming them.

Kentaro explores the synergy between painting and the arts of music and dance, focusing on gestures, postures, rhythm, speed, and the harmonious or contrasting interplay of colors. These elements and actions on his canvas evoke fleeting writing memories and energy exchanges. He perceives painting as a testament of time, rewriting himself through layers of pigment and constant brushwork, and painting itself also retains the energetic memories of those subjects that transiently touch its surface.

In his perspective, specific symbols and objects in his artworks are not the subjects themselves; rather, they serve as a vessel or placeholder for his thoughts and emotions. Through this approach, Kentaro conveys  the fluid psychological and energetic states of individuals, reflecting on collective consciousness and contemplating the intrinsic relationship between the self and the universe.

The exhibition theme, Rawness, captures the direct, pure, punchy and unadorned textures in Kentaro’s artworks. His pieces in recent two years convey an atmosphere distant from urban life and industrial civilization, rich in instinct and primitivism. This represents the essence of his art—exploring a natural state that reverts to his origins, influenced by the modern aesthetics of primitivism, impressionism and minimalism.