Toko Izumi
Japan
3 Works exhibited on Kooness
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Works by Toko Izumi
Born in 1992, Toko Izumi is one of Japan's most innovative Japanese painting artists.
Nippon-ga is a traditional Japanese style of painting that was named in the Meiji period (1868-1912) to distinguish it from Western painting, which was mainly based on oil.
Nihonga is painted on Japanese paper or silk using natural materials such as mineral pigments, sumi ink and glue. The use of these natural materials requires a great deal of skill.
Most Japanese paintings are painted in a flat, unshaded style and are characterised by outlines. They are also characterised by their use of contour lines, with little or no layering of colour.
Toko Izumi's works are also made from natural materials, and the flatness of her depiction, with little shading, is certainly characteristic of Japanese painting, but what is most different from traditional Japanese painting is the depth created by painting over, peeling back and scratching.
She describes her work as being heavily influenced by the designs, textiles and prints she has been familiar with since childhood.
In addition, the motifs of her works always seem to have a story underpinning them, which she does not explain. It is her hope that each viewer will flap the wings of their own imagination and create a new version of the story she has presented.