Open Studio Portfolio
Azure Klusek
Themes
“Sinking” (Identity)
For the Identity piece, this represents my anxiety that I frequently deal with. When I get super anxious, I throw up and gag, and most of my memories of that is in my bathroom sink. So the painting is like “spilling your guts.”
“Quiet.” (Question
Everything)
Why are women so held back by a misogynistic society? The girl’s potential is represented by the star she’s almost holding, but she doesn’t know it’s there, as she is blindfolded.
“TGM Connections™” (Food)
This piece is supposed to be what feeds me, so I chose romance. The couple is withstanding the dark around them. The red man has blue on him to represent where he’s been impacted by the blue man, and the same for the blue man.
“Bloop” (Nature)
I am not the biggest fan of nature, so i wanted to do something a bit cuter to make myself like it! I used my gouache to make a silly little underwater scene.
“Climax” (Horror - my own theme)
While not a traditional depiction of horror, I went more for the horror of losing a loved one. The cages represent feeling trapped in grief. The main figure is gripping onto his loved one out of fear of forever letting him go.
Final
Kyosuke Tchinai was born in 1948 in Japan. He attended Tokyo University of the Arts and graduated with a postgraduate degree. He is known for combining parts of traditional Japanese artwork with more Western styles. For example, he puts acrylic paint (Western medium) on washi (Japanese paper). Another example of this is his frequent usage of cross hatching in his art, which is European technique.
Tchinai paints a lot of nature scenes. Everything has a lot of texture and patterns. He assimilates elements of the Edo period in his paintings, which emphasize traditional Japanese aesthetics in art. His color choices are more muted and usually his work has some sort of emphasis on one specific part. He also has made art for a horror video game, so he delves into the world of horror with his art as well.
Tchinai says his paintings are about a sort of paradise, dream-like world. He expresses his admiration for his culture and ancestors through his lingering aspects of traditional Japanese art. The items in his paintings are also symbolic of something more. For example, the butterflies that frequent his art symbolize family members. His art is also meant to make the viewer feel sometimes peaceful, sometimes eerie, and sometimes both.
Kyosuke Tchinai has inspired me in my work in many ways. I love subtly eerie art, so I love his pieces of peaceful scenery with creepy figures in them. I also really like the traditional Japanese art aesthetic, so I am looking to kind of assimilate those elements as well. There is one specific painting that focuses on juxtaposition that I am going to emulate/recreate for this project. I love the cartoon looking bunny that completely contrasts the realistic people in the painting: the absurdity is very eye-catching.
“Autumn Bliss” https://centmagazine.co.uk/juxtaposed-three-artists-on-juxtaposition/
Tchinai’s piece was a bit more coherent than mine, having the background match the people. I, however, did not want to paint a background. I decided to cut up a newspaper, getting the articles. I wanted the pencil people to blend into the background too, so I thought newspaper writing would accomplish that the best. I tried to keep the colors of the bunny man, but I used pencil for the family instead to make the contrast even more noticeable.
Family means something different to each person. While some may adore their family, others may feel isolated. My recreation of Tchinai’s work is meant to illustrate the feeling of otherness within a family. The cartoony bunny is meant to completely stand out and seem out of place when in proximity to the pencil people. He breaks the fourth wall which indicates how the black sheep always notices things other people may not.
Sources:
Sketches
Neurographic Art
Exquisite Corpse
Dream
Spider
Fortune
Goo
Star
Observe
Guided
Breeze
Arrow
Flicker
Donation
(White on Black)
Mutilation
(Reverse Coloring)
Balloon
(Reverse Coloring)