Hiroyuki Matsuura

each panel signed in English and dated 2007 on the reverse

New York, The Armory Show, 2007

The work is generally in good condition. There are no apparent condition issues with the work.
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Hiroyuki Matsuura worked as a graphic designer for twenty years before presenting several critically acclaimed solo shows of his work. He is one of a group of artists who are known for their bright, stylized works that play off the overbearing cuteness seen in anime, known as "kawaii" in Japanese. His work is rendered in such a style that it lacks spatial depth, a style that is coined as "Superflat" by Takashi Murakami, and which has its roots in traditional Japanese woodblock prints.

 

Bridging the gap between modern and traditional Japanese culture, artists such as Matsuura borrow themes and subjects from popular culture, including anime, but often stylistically reference Nihonga art. As Japan continues to evolve at a rapid pace, Japanese contemporary artists use elements of both traditional and modern Japanese culture to reflect complex societal changes.

 

Matsuura's work draws our attention to the youth and cuteness seen in many aspects of Japanese society. His art touches upon what scholar Eiji Otsuka regarded as the infantilization of Japanese culture that occurred in conjunction with the rise of the Japanese economy in the 1970's. Otsuka regarded this phenomenon as a method used by contemporary Japanese society of self-protection from the fears of Japan's imperialist past and subsequent defeat in the Second World War. After the end of the war, Japan rapidly adopted all things western, especially American, and as Japan's economy expanded, much of Japanese culture started to veer towards the non-threatening and infantile, seen particularly in the cute, child-focused art of anime. Otsuka saw this as a way for the Japanese to protect themselves from the militaristic actions of its past as it grew once again to be a world power. In their appropriation of this kawaii culture, contemporary artists such as Matsuura play with this connection between Japanese economic growth and its obsession with youth and innocence.

 

Among the significant Japanese contemporary works offered in this auction is Hiroyuki Matsuura's Kurotsuki (Lot 673), a monumental work that while firmly rooted in anime also evokes elements of Japanese classical art. Dominant and enchanting within its horizontal frame, Matsuura pays tribute to the traditional craft of screen painting which has been precisely applied with silver leaf to illuminate the backdrop. Matsuura has only made three triptychs of such enormous scale thus far and this is the very first one he created.  Kurotsuki is also a rare specimen in that the artist very seldom uses silver leaf in his works.

 

The main protagonist of this painting is a boy reclining in the guise of a samurai with his pink-diapered robe draped over his shoulders exposing his naked body, who confronts the viewer with a bright wide-eyed glare in a playful manner as he sticks out his tongue in animated affability. This unlikely composition is made even more bizarre with its juxta-positioning with the dominant presence of the sword, and the sombre background of the Rising Sun, rendered in black against a silver foil sky, which combine to serve as stark reminders of Japan's unique cultural identity. This symbiotic relationship between the playful boy and such traditional symbols of Japanese power serve as a colourful metaphor of the state of contemporary Japanese culture.

 

In this fantastical image, the flatness associated with classical Japanese art is seen in the thick black outlines and the smooth application of saturated colours. Embodying the essence of anime, the blocks of colour are so deliberate that we are reminded of the artist's background as a graphic designer.

 

This graphic spirit is continued in Water Rescue (Lot 672) as Matsuura exaggerates the stark contrast between the bright orange vest worn by the protagonist, and the flat light blue ground. Similar to the boy in Kurotsuki the main subject is also a half-naked boy, here dressed as a lifeguard, and half-submerged in water. In this, Matsuura's only acrylic on canvas, large scale depiction of this specific character, the boy engages the eye of the viewer with an intense stare that almost draws one into his virtual realm.

 

Indeed it becomes easy to understand how the viewer might find oneself wanting to anthropomorphize the protagonists in Matsuura's work, creating imaginary personality traits and background stories for them, and ultimately escaping the troubles of the real world by seeking companionship with these fictionalized characters in their perfect digital fantasy world.

 

Almost all children and even many adults fantasise about taking on the personas of surreal characters; with nowhere more so than in Japan. Bearing this in mind, the youthful characters in Matsuura's paintings could in fact, be depictions of a Japanese child in his or her alternative guise. The digital era has created a symbiotic relationship between animated characters and the Japanese youth of today. Hiroyuki Matsuura's work succeeds not only in clearly articulating a modernised visual system, but also subtly addresses the inability of Japan's current generation to distinguish reality from the fantasies of the digital world.