wink
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A “wink” is a little gesture that one makes in order to make a hint or suggestion, or to convey some kind of message or idea. Painters sometimes do it during the creative process in front of the painting they are working on. The purpose here is to look at it with one eye only, so that the canvas, a three-dimensional object, appears two-dimensionally. This is how one can spot defects in the overall composition, proportions or color balance. In other words, winking means taking a step back from the work, to detect problems or errors from an objective point of view. It is a process of creation and correction that is repeated until the painting is completed.
The complexity of contemporary social life makes it increasingly difficult to grasp the big picture. As a result, people are divided by extreme, opposing views and values, and such polarization sometimes triggers serious problems. Just like painters examine their work with one eye, we should address social problems from a similar, neutral point of view, and keep fixing things and restore the balance, to create a better society. The idea behind the title, “Wink,” was to communicate the artist’s feelings of hope in this respect.
The new paintings that are exhibited here, are vertically divided into two halves. One half is dominated by the dynamic feel of brushstrokes, including roughly or not at all painted areas. This emphasizes the material quality and texture of the canvas, and also stimulates the viewer’s creativity and involvement. The other half is dedicated to the method of “subtraction” that Komura has been employing in recent years. Here the brushstrokes are completely wiped out, and what emerges instead is a beauty of stillness. These works can be understood as a response to the “Horizon” series of paintings that are horizontally divided into two different halves, which the artist unveiled in 2021. While the emphasis is on the stark contrasts within the individual paintings, there is always also a balance, and an underlying message that conveys Komura’s problem awareness and hope.
Artist
Marefumi KOMURA
小村希史
1977, Japan
Lives and works in Tokyo.
Selected Exhibitions:
2021 Horizon AKIO NAGASAWA GALLERY, Tokyo
2019 Diamond AKIO NAGASAWA GALLERY, Tokyo
2018 Big Ship The Mass, Tokyo
2017 Ginza Morioka-Shoten, Tokyo
2016 Flower Huddle The Mass, Tokyo
2014 3331 Art Fair ‒Various Collectors' Prizes‒ 3331 Arts Chiyoda, Tokyo
2014 Art Stage Singapore
2013 Why not live for Art? II - 9 collectors reveal their treasures Opera City Art Gallery, Tokyo
2013 Small Painting Like Us Megumi Ogita Gallery, Tokyo
2013 Felt Like Painting Felt, Tokyo
2012 New Paintings Megumi Ogita Gallery, Tokyo
2013 Symbiosis Aki Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan
2012 XYZ Megumi Ogita Gallery, Tokyo
2011 Fragment Megumi Ogita Gallery, Tokyo
2009 Feeble Shanghai, China
2008 Painting and Drawing TCP gallery, Tokyo
2008 Faultiness frantic, Tokyo
2007 Untitled, Wall of Sound, Seattle, US
2006 NADA - New Art Dealers Alliance Art Fair Miami 2006
2006 Geisai 2006
Publication
![](https://cdn.akionagasawa.com/i/d3/ddQpjtae_fNRzWI.jpeg)
wink Book
This book features a diverse range of disordered wink images from Komura's scrap archive on one side of the page, encompassing comical to unsettling visuals. The opposite page contains drawings in watercolor, oil, acrylic, collage, and marker pens. These images are in dialogue with each other, and the coincidences that emerge offer a glimpse into Komura's artistic vision.
![](https://cdn.akionagasawa.com/i/cf/gkDyw8AP_cLnrxI.jpeg)
End Loop Wink Cassette
“end loop wink” is a continuation of the technique used in “end loop”, a cassette tape released in 2006. “end loop” was composed of minimal looping pieces, based on the last fade out/note of pre-existing recorded music. The theme “wink” applies the same techniques as “end loop” to evoke a variety of images such as: the sound of rain hitting umbrellas, construction sites, crackling noises, computer clicks, or even, the sound of gunshots still ringing around the world today. This cassette tape was created for the 2024 solo exhibition entitled “wink”.
![](https://cdn.akionagasawa.com/i/16/A9a5cQizP_0VceSB.jpeg)
wink Book Box Set
The silkscreened box contains the numbered wInk Book, End Loop wInk, and one of the original drawings used in the book.
- Please note that the face of Mona Lisa on the cover might be different for each edition.
![](https://cdn.akionagasawa.com/i/44/uNEh6W3B_Caj80d.jpeg)
![](https://cdn.akionagasawa.com/i/b6/a0mujh8A_TVJS8d.jpeg)
![](https://cdn.akionagasawa.com/i/19/7MBNkFCc_lUOAlB.jpeg)
Works on Paper (Special Edition)
A special edition of “Works on Paper” (hard cover version, signed & numbered) set in a special box with “Graphite on Paper 2019” and an original print (signed).
The image of original print is different for each book. Sorry, you can not choose an image.
![](https://cdn.akionagasawa.com/i/fe/NGGJBXOU_0olMFx.jpeg)