Korehiko Hino “Scenery as is”
session:2013/9/20(Fri) - 10/6(Sun) 12:00?20:00
*closed on 9/24(Tue) and 30(Mon)
opening reception:9/20(Fri) 18:00 - 20:00
venue:SNOW Contemporary (XYZ collective) / 2-30-20 1F Tsurumaki Setagaya Tokyo JAPAN
SNOW Contemporary is pleased to announce solo exhibition of Korehiko Hino “Scenary as is” from September 20th to October 6th. The large hollowed eyes, half-opened mouths, infant-like poses, the naked body with only a white brief... The lunatic portraits by Korehiko Hino became widely renowned when he won the VOCA award in 2005. Hino’s unprecedented human expressions were received with surprise and wonderment, along with the fragile social situation at that time with hikikomori* and NEETs.
However, Hino himself clearly states the portraits are not drawn for the intention of shocking its audience. “In order to visualize human spirit which has no shape, I deliberately draw a body and consciousness separately. For example, when drawing a face, I choose facial expressions which do not show any feelings, regardless of its pose . Eyes that are widely open and out of focus are for eliminating the feeling. All information transmitted from posing and clothing is also omitted, weakened, changed or moved to avoid specific meaning or mind showing from a human body drawn in a painting. (quotation from “Korehiko Hino”, 2011). Although some may find Hino’s portraits somewhat sensational, to Hino who attempts to draw human spirit as is by eliminating every possible identity factors including facial expressions and costumes, it may be the most natural way of expression.
In his solo exhibition “What Lies Beneath” at The Ueno Royal Museum in March 2011, he chose not only the already-known portrait motifs but also others including animal carcasses and wigs as his motifs, and took his steps into still-life paintings. By implying keys which connote liveliness towards the dead, the still motifs achieve a breathing presence, making the still-life paintings succeed to accomplish the same amphibolous perspective of the portraits by precisely applying the opposite approaches. From both portraits and still-life paintings, Hino revealed not only the visible surfaces but also the invisible yet evidently existing state of human spirit.
This solo exhibition entitled "Scenery as is" would exhibit around six works including new pieces such as drawings, portraits and large-scale landscape paintings. We hope his assured techniques and clear visions as a painter would come to your pursuance, and may become a help to you in acknowledging the current society by experiencing the landscapes of the present day through the visionary world of Korehiko Hino.
Scenary as is - Artist Statement
My expression aims to create a unique image of my own by using realistic descriptions and allegorical approaches. Realistic expressions derive from an impulsion of wanting to draw a subject as is. To me, such condition is a state where a substance eliminates all its surrounding factors, and is exposed just as it is by itself. In order to achieve such condition, I draw a shape of a substance in details, but on the other hand delete all factors except its shape. Concretely speaking, I control the structure so factors such as consciousness, emotion, sound, temperature or scent would not appear in the frame. It is like to strip away the skin coating a substance and to bare its content, and even deflate the spiritual existence we sense further inside, and to make it completely empty. Painting like this, the subject becomes revealed as it is, and at the same time an unseen spiritual presence arises. Contrary to realistic expressions where subjects are expressed as they are, allegorical expressions use shapes of subjects in order to embody a certain meaning. In my works, allegorical expressions are used to extinguish every elements surrounding a substance, and make the substances extracted as is. At the stage of selecting a motif or its environmental settings, I first control its meanings so it would not evoke a specific story. By doing this, the substance would be released from its stories, and may reach a condition where a substance simply exists and nothing else. Or by drawing a motif or an environment which conjures not existing, it may connote the state of nothing existing. As a result, a condition where a shape is visible yet nothing seems to exist accrues. By doing so, every element except the shape would be diminished here, and the state of a substance being extracted as is becomes obtainable. In this manner, by using realistic expressions and allegorical expressions, I vividly reveal the fresh overt state of the objects. At the same time, I develop awareness towards the existence of the unseen. I consider the condition of the actual world becomes comprehended as is through this act.
Korehiko HIno
Translated by Kana Kawanishi
session:2013/9/20(Fri) - 10/6(Sun) 12:00?20:00
*closed on 9/24(Tue) and 30(Mon)
opening reception:9/20(Fri) 18:00 - 20:00
venue:SNOW Contemporary (XYZ collective) / 2-30-20 1F Tsurumaki Setagaya Tokyo JAPAN
SNOW Contemporary is pleased to announce solo exhibition of Korehiko Hino “Scenary as is” from September 20th to October 6th. The large hollowed eyes, half-opened mouths, infant-like poses, the naked body with only a white brief... The lunatic portraits by Korehiko Hino became widely renowned when he won the VOCA award in 2005. Hino’s unprecedented human expressions were received with surprise and wonderment, along with the fragile social situation at that time with hikikomori* and NEETs.
However, Hino himself clearly states the portraits are not drawn for the intention of shocking its audience. “In order to visualize human spirit which has no shape, I deliberately draw a body and consciousness separately. For example, when drawing a face, I choose facial expressions which do not show any feelings, regardless of its pose . Eyes that are widely open and out of focus are for eliminating the feeling. All information transmitted from posing and clothing is also omitted, weakened, changed or moved to avoid specific meaning or mind showing from a human body drawn in a painting. (quotation from “Korehiko Hino”, 2011). Although some may find Hino’s portraits somewhat sensational, to Hino who attempts to draw human spirit as is by eliminating every possible identity factors including facial expressions and costumes, it may be the most natural way of expression.
In his solo exhibition “What Lies Beneath” at The Ueno Royal Museum in March 2011, he chose not only the already-known portrait motifs but also others including animal carcasses and wigs as his motifs, and took his steps into still-life paintings. By implying keys which connote liveliness towards the dead, the still motifs achieve a breathing presence, making the still-life paintings succeed to accomplish the same amphibolous perspective of the portraits by precisely applying the opposite approaches. From both portraits and still-life paintings, Hino revealed not only the visible surfaces but also the invisible yet evidently existing state of human spirit.
This solo exhibition entitled "Scenery as is" would exhibit around six works including new pieces such as drawings, portraits and large-scale landscape paintings. We hope his assured techniques and clear visions as a painter would come to your pursuance, and may become a help to you in acknowledging the current society by experiencing the landscapes of the present day through the visionary world of Korehiko Hino.
Scenary as is - Artist Statement
My expression aims to create a unique image of my own by using realistic descriptions and allegorical approaches. Realistic expressions derive from an impulsion of wanting to draw a subject as is. To me, such condition is a state where a substance eliminates all its surrounding factors, and is exposed just as it is by itself. In order to achieve such condition, I draw a shape of a substance in details, but on the other hand delete all factors except its shape. Concretely speaking, I control the structure so factors such as consciousness, emotion, sound, temperature or scent would not appear in the frame. It is like to strip away the skin coating a substance and to bare its content, and even deflate the spiritual existence we sense further inside, and to make it completely empty. Painting like this, the subject becomes revealed as it is, and at the same time an unseen spiritual presence arises. Contrary to realistic expressions where subjects are expressed as they are, allegorical expressions use shapes of subjects in order to embody a certain meaning. In my works, allegorical expressions are used to extinguish every elements surrounding a substance, and make the substances extracted as is. At the stage of selecting a motif or its environmental settings, I first control its meanings so it would not evoke a specific story. By doing this, the substance would be released from its stories, and may reach a condition where a substance simply exists and nothing else. Or by drawing a motif or an environment which conjures not existing, it may connote the state of nothing existing. As a result, a condition where a shape is visible yet nothing seems to exist accrues. By doing so, every element except the shape would be diminished here, and the state of a substance being extracted as is becomes obtainable. In this manner, by using realistic expressions and allegorical expressions, I vividly reveal the fresh overt state of the objects. At the same time, I develop awareness towards the existence of the unseen. I consider the condition of the actual world becomes comprehended as is through this act.
Korehiko HIno
Translated by Kana Kawanishi
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