Lot 1049: MITSURU WATANABE

MITSURU WATANABE
(b. 1953)
Time of absence/Landscape with Poko
oil on canvas
161.3 x 111.7 cm. (63 1/2 x 44 in.)
Painted in 2008

The works of Mitsuru Watanabe combine the elements from traditional Japanese art and contemporary culture and thus artfully reveal the conflicts between the past and the present, the traditions and the modern. In Yukiko Dreaming (Lot 1047), the little girl with two plaits and in neat school uniform falls into an unconscious sleep while reading comic books; passing through space and time, she experiences the traditional and contemporary Japanese culture in her dreams. In Gyoshu's Garden/Yukiko with Camellia (Lot 1048), the serious expression in Yukiko's eyes is one that is hard to find in an innocent girl, the comic book of sweet girls on the cover further perplex the viewers as they remind of her mind and age. Watanabe's exploration on space and time, traditional and modern of art are found in Time of Absence/Landscape with Poko (Lot 1049).With the background of a typical Baroque oil painting, Watanabe creatively inserts a box of Poko and seven other milk candies in the centre to establish a connection between the natural milk from the herding cows and the artificial candies made by machines.