Lot 1011: HIROSHI KOBAYASHI

HIROSHI KOBAYASHI
(b. 1967)
Final Corner
signed 'Hiroshi Kobayashi ' in English; dated '2006' (on the reverse)
acrylic on canvas
130 x 194 cm. (51 3/16 x 76 3/8 in.)
Painted in 2006

Seoul, Korea, Gallery Artside, 2006.

Kobayashi's paintings of stuffed animals, integrate elements of Japanese art such as Ukiyo-e (woodcut-printing), photography and animation, characterized by the layered pictorial space, dynamics of action, sharp lines and allegories. Inspired by these mediums, he developed his own unique style to depict his representational figures. In an elaborate process, he takes a digital photograph of a figure, manipulates the image in order to make a draft of a virtual story. Then, with the aid of a computer, he reduces and adjusts the colors into chromatic shapes, similar to a geographical map. Using the draft, he paints the images by pouring glossy fluid acrylic paints onto a prepared canvas. By pouring the color onto the canvas, the artist creates colorful stuffed animals, floating on a smooth, single-colored surface.

The blurred image in his work Final Corner (Lot 1011) reminds us of black and white photography, which instantly creates a sense of nostalgia and childhood memories. The figures' naive simplicity corresponds with what they stand for; carelessness of childhood. Floating like balloons that escape the hands of playing children, they fly away, never to return. Similar to an illusion or a single moment of a dream, these floating figures are like toys, abandoned and forgotten a long time ago.