Perrotin is showcasing a new solo exhibition by rising Japanese painter and sculptor, Otani Workshop. Housed at the gallery’s Hong Kong location, Portraits features a cast of charming characters displayed across a series of wood panel paintings and ceramic plates.
Otani, whose real name is Shigeru Otani, is known for creating portraits of children and fictional animals as a reflection on his personal journey. Each character’s uninterested expression mirrors his own ambivalence to the curriculums he studied at art school and the discouragement he received from professor’s saying that few artists could financially survive on just pottery. By conflating modern aesthetic sensibilities, such as anime and manga, with Japan’s ceramic lineage, Otani looks to blur the lines between art and craft as a comment on the evolving spectrum of human expression.
The show’s inward-facing journey notably echoes the sentiments of acclaimed Japanese poet and critic Junzaburō Nishiwaki, who once said: “In solitude felt, thus I exist.” The solitude in Otani’s faded color palettes recall his daily travels, “Whether it is a modern or contemporary art museum, an ancient temple, or a historical museum collection,” noted the artist in a statement.
All the characters in his artwork are purposefully left hazy and ambiguous for the viewer to connect their own story within Otani’s “little monsters.” As such, both his pottery and his paintings carry a tactility that feels intimate and familiar. “Directly touching and creating with soft clay brings me joy, and I believe this feeling can also be imparted to the audience,” the artist added.
Portraits will be on view at Perrotin Hong Kong until February 17, 2024.
Perrotin
Suite 807, K11 Atelier
Victoria Dockside
18 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon
Hong Kong
