Akira Zakamoto: Beyond the Gaze, Beyond the Future
Big, deep blue eyes of the heroes of the future — a future that, these days, frightens us so. Terrible days we watch in disbelief, that we try to push from our minds in the hope of a better future. A fear that slowly fades behind the colours, laid down with skilful mastery and intensity by the sure, essential hand of this artist who, more than ever today, seems to wave the flag of serenity, of confidence in tomorrow, because surely everything will be better in the hands of these small yet great creatures. Faces of earthly angels, gazing toward a future Paradise. And if, as they say, "children are the thermometer of our times," then looking at his works one cannot help but hope for better days — days in which even grown-ups may lose themselves in the blue sky where soap bubbles, hot-air balloons and shining stars dissolve.
The forms are essential, clear and defined, the colours intense and material. There are no gradations of colour; rather, depth comes from the use of different tones that draw the almost palpable faces of these little men and little women. The face is a catalyst of emotions: it occupies most of the canvas, sometimes leaving room for little superhero bodies foreshortened from above, as if about to take flight, or for echoes of city architecture or otherworldly realms. The gaze is almost always turned upward, yet it always meets ours, as if asking us to follow — a call it is hard to refuse. This artist has managed to push his gaze further, beyond the ordinary, beyond mediocrity; to lower his own stature and reach the eye level of his children, to see into their eyes and, with their eyes, how the New World might appear. A beautiful fairy tale that makes us dream, with the hope that the dream may then come true.
The forms are essential, clear and defined, the colours intense and material. There are no gradations of colour; rather, depth comes from the use of different tones that draw the almost palpable faces of these little men and little women. The face is a catalyst of emotions: it occupies most of the canvas, sometimes leaving room for little superhero bodies foreshortened from above, as if about to take flight, or for echoes of city architecture or otherworldly realms. The gaze is almost always turned upward, yet it always meets ours, as if asking us to follow — a call it is hard to refuse. This artist has managed to push his gaze further, beyond the ordinary, beyond mediocrity; to lower his own stature and reach the eye level of his children, to see into their eyes and, with their eyes, how the New World might appear. A beautiful fairy tale that makes us dream, with the hope that the dream may then come true.
Grandi e profondi occhioni blu degli eroi del futuro, un futuro che di questi tempi ci fa tanta paura. Giorni terribili che osserviamo increduli, che cerchiamo di allontanare dalle nostre menti per sperare in un futuro migliore. Paura che si affievolisce pian piano dietro ai colori, stesi con sapiente maestria ed intensità , dalla mano sicura ed essenziale di questo artista, che, mai come oggi, sembra sventolare la bandiera della serenità , della sicurezza nel domani, perché certamente tutto sarà migliore in mano a queste piccole ma grandi creature. I volti di angeli terreni, che guardano ad un Paradiso futuro. E se come si dice "i bambini sono il termometro dei giorni nostri", osservando i suoi lavori, non si può non sperare in giorni migliori, giorni in cui anche i grandi potranno perdersi nel cielo azzurro in cui si dissolvono bolle di sapone, mongolfiere e stelle splendenti.
Le forme sono essenziali, chiare e delineate, i colori intensi, materici. Non esistono sfumature di colore, ma la profondità è data dall'uso di diverse tonalità che disegnano i volti quasi palpabili di questi piccoli uomini e piccole donne. Il volto è un catalizzatore di emozioni, occupa prevalentemente lo spazio della tela lasciando spazio talvolta a corpicini da supereroi scorciati dall'alto, quasi a spiccare il volo, o a richiami ad architetture cittadine o a mondi ultraterreni. Lo sguardo è sempre, o quasi, rivolto verso l'alto, ma sempre incontra il nostro, quasi a chiederci di seguirli, un richiamo a cui è difficile rispondere no. Quest'artista è riuscito a spingere oltre il suo sguardo, oltre la normalità , oltre la mediocrità , ad abbassare la sua statura per arrivare all'altezza degli occhi dei suoi bambini, per vedere dentro ai loro occhi e con i loro occhi, come può apparire il Nuovo Mondo. Una bella fiaba che ci fa sognare, con la speranza che il sogno si possa poi avverare.
Le forme sono essenziali, chiare e delineate, i colori intensi, materici. Non esistono sfumature di colore, ma la profondità è data dall'uso di diverse tonalità che disegnano i volti quasi palpabili di questi piccoli uomini e piccole donne. Il volto è un catalizzatore di emozioni, occupa prevalentemente lo spazio della tela lasciando spazio talvolta a corpicini da supereroi scorciati dall'alto, quasi a spiccare il volo, o a richiami ad architetture cittadine o a mondi ultraterreni. Lo sguardo è sempre, o quasi, rivolto verso l'alto, ma sempre incontra il nostro, quasi a chiederci di seguirli, un richiamo a cui è difficile rispondere no. Quest'artista è riuscito a spingere oltre il suo sguardo, oltre la normalità , oltre la mediocrità , ad abbassare la sua statura per arrivare all'altezza degli occhi dei suoi bambini, per vedere dentro ai loro occhi e con i loro occhi, come può apparire il Nuovo Mondo. Una bella fiaba che ci fa sognare, con la speranza che il sogno si possa poi avverare.
Big, deep blue eyes of the heroes of the future — a future that, these days, frightens us so. Terrible days we watch in disbelief, that we try to push from our minds in the hope of a better future. A fear that slowly fades behind the colours, laid down with skilful mastery and intensity by the sure, essential hand of this artist who, more than ever today, seems to wave the flag of serenity, of confidence in tomorrow, because surely everything will be better in the hands of these small yet great creatures. Faces of earthly angels, gazing toward a future Paradise. And if, as they say, "children are the thermometer of our times," then looking at his works one cannot help but hope for better days — days in which even grown-ups may lose themselves in the blue sky where soap bubbles, hot-air balloons and shining stars dissolve.
The forms are essential, clear and defined, the colours intense and material. There are no gradations of colour; rather, depth comes from the use of different tones that draw the almost palpable faces of these little men and little women. The face is a catalyst of emotions: it occupies most of the canvas, sometimes leaving room for little superhero bodies foreshortened from above, as if about to take flight, or for echoes of city architecture or otherworldly realms. The gaze is almost always turned upward, yet it always meets ours, as if asking us to follow — a call it is hard to refuse. This artist has managed to push his gaze further, beyond the ordinary, beyond mediocrity; to lower his own stature and reach the eye level of his children, to see into their eyes and, with their eyes, how the New World might appear. A beautiful fairy tale that makes us dream, with the hope that the dream may then come true.
The forms are essential, clear and defined, the colours intense and material. There are no gradations of colour; rather, depth comes from the use of different tones that draw the almost palpable faces of these little men and little women. The face is a catalyst of emotions: it occupies most of the canvas, sometimes leaving room for little superhero bodies foreshortened from above, as if about to take flight, or for echoes of city architecture or otherworldly realms. The gaze is almost always turned upward, yet it always meets ours, as if asking us to follow — a call it is hard to refuse. This artist has managed to push his gaze further, beyond the ordinary, beyond mediocrity; to lower his own stature and reach the eye level of his children, to see into their eyes and, with their eyes, how the New World might appear. A beautiful fairy tale that makes us dream, with the hope that the dream may then come true.