December 20 2003, Saturday, 11am-4pm
AFTER EXHIBITIONS IN FRANCE, JAPAN & NEW YORK… YOKOH MORITA'S TRADITIONAL "NIHONGA" EXHIBITION FEATURES LITHOGRAPHICS, SCREEN PRINTS & WATERCOLOURS OF FLOWERS, LAKES, TREES & JAPANESE WATERFALLS ("TAKI")
Earlier this week, we visited Yukoh Morita's impressive, "Nihonga" exhibition in London's Cork Street. "Nihonga", we discovered, is an old tradition of some thousand-plus years, and as we look at Yokuh's works, we can see the traditional Japanese elements at play… lots of lakes, pine trees, water lilies and waterfalls combine to give a feeling of a quiet, distant and beautiful land. We met the artist when we visited his second solo exhibition in London, earlier this week, but it was through his translator, that we learnt about the beauties currently on show on the gallery's ground floor and basement. Not only did we learn about the Japanese environment, but also some Japanese vocabulary. We discovered the Japanese word for waterfall is "taki" so when we saw, "A Morning in Akyuotaki" (£12,000) we learnt that Akyuotaki was not so much the name of a town or city, but the name of a waterfall! In addition to this, when we saw, "A Morning In Jyoren Falls" (£12,000), we knew we were going to learn some Japanese geography. Yes, Jyoren is a place name in central Japan, next to Tokyo. It too has waterfalls. In addition to these pictures, portraying masses of water, there are several, which portray flowers and trees: namely clematis, water lilies and pines.
Our favourite work - out of all Yokoh's pictures, is the landscape painting, "Autumn Aria," (£12,000) which - in addition to a lot of depth - shows mountains of different shades of greens and reds, according to distance. We also liked, "Dawn" (£9,000) which is a bright depiction of Mount Fuji, which we hear is not normally so colourful. Prices for Yukoh's other works range from two at £650 up to two screen prints at £120,000 each, including one large one at 172cm x 372cm. Over half of the 43 works on show, though, are priced in the £1,200-£4,800 range. Instead of a signature - in the traditional meaning of the word, each painting is stamped with the artist's stamp. So, instead of stamping your feet on the ground, to get them warm, use them to go along and enjoy a piece of Japan in Mayfair! Admission free. Telephone 020 7734 7595 (during exhibition hours) for more information, if required. Location: Gallery 27, 27 Cork Street, London, W1. Tube station: Green Park (Jubilee, Piccadilly and Victoria lines).
