Catalogues

Yoko Obata’s work is concerned with shape and colour, and more recently, tone. Her working practice is extremely controlled-she uses stencils and a layering process to painstakingly create immaculate canvases that appear to have had little human intervention. Obata is fascinated by the idea of kaleidoscopic images. By incorporating a layer of gel-like material into her canvases she creates a further dimension that is only truly appreciated by being in the presence of the work. The effect is one of reflection and refraction that changes with light, bringing her work further to life.

Everyday objects such as leaves, windows and cups originally inspired Obata to experiment with shape. In her recent work these influences are less apparent as she has abstracted/simplified these shapes even further. Her work references Japanese art (she originally studied traditional Japanese painting) through this use of everyday objects from her immediate environment-an idea common in traditional Japanese aesthetics.

There is confidence in Obata’s precise and ordered canvases that manifests itself in her bold use of shape and considered use of tone and colour. The new work that has been made especially for this exhibition shows a development in the artist’s work from her earlier canvases, some of which are also displayed here. Her patterns have become more complex as her use of colour has become more delicate and monochrome with the shadow-like layer of gel now also including a suggestion of tone and colour.
(From Catalogue ‘Bright Light’, 2003)

…it is hardly surprising that Obata’s work appears distinctly Japanese. Her art is controlled, precise and almost monochromatic. But the pastel colours combined with clean simplistic lines from works that touch and international concerns [the everyday] as well as state her place of origin[Japan]-neither of which takes priority. Inspired by her immediate surroundings, Obata transforms something as simple as the lid of a pen into a vision of beauty.

Referencing objects from her personal life, Obata makes individual, sometimes nostalgic statements through her finished compositions. Fragmented and symmetrical designs stem from views through a kaleidoscope, one of her childhood toys. She invites the viewer to enjoy fleeting glimpses of her world and momentarily connect us to her reality. There is potential for each viewer to create their own response to a shape or line; personal interpretations that span the boundaries of cultures.

‘Opting for contemporary art gave me freedom of expression but led to a feeling of alienation from my own culture. Consequently my studies of Japanese art became a conscious activity instead of incidental one. It was then that I became aware of the Japanese influences inherent in my work.’

As with other ex-patriot artists, Obata has discovered that being away from her homeland has prompted her to deliberately seek out aspects of Japanese culture and art. Qualities such as simplicity, complexities of process and immediate environment are essential to her work and found in traditional painting. The minimal nature of her painting also conceals the convoluted nature of production.

‘I work with stencilling techniques, using adhesive plastic sheeting to regulate the shapes resulting in layered paintings. The stencils are used repeatedly both in negative and positive from until the process is complete.’

Repeatedly, Obata’s art references traditional painting, yet she insists this is only a backdrop for its contemporary influences. If this is so, should she not be respected for her ability to combine these areas effortlessly? The apprehension of being pigeon-holed as someone from the ‘exotic Far East’ forces Obata, while proud of her Japanese heritage to avidly avoid being set within this context. Is it perhaps important then, for those viewing contemporary Japanese art see it as art, rather than ‘Japanese’?

Throughout Japan, artists challenge this phenomenon of ‘labelling’, by producing engaging work that explores the idiosyncrasies of daily life. Yoko Obata’s work is testimony to a current trend towards the marriage of old and new-something that defies all previous perceptions of Japanese art and stands to enlighten people. It seems the tables have turned and Japan has now become a prime external influence for many cultures, including those of ‘the West’. ….
(Quoted from Essay ‘Holding the Mirror’ by Sian Evans, Iro Iro Catalogue, 2002)

Once typified by a culture that reflected a need for Westernisation and modernisation, particularly in art, Japan is now in the position of having the Western world look to it for influences.

This exhibition proposes the same of the work of Yoko Obata, a Japanese artist now resident in England, suggesting that her paintings are symptomatic of a culture in charge of its own image; one that no longer attempts to emulate others.

In their symmetry, combining meticulous and measured use of shape, colour and composition using references drawn from the world around her, they seem a simple combination of both East and West. Their kaleidoscopic appearance and opaque, layered colours suggest the nostalgia debts to minimalism-itself part of Western art history.

Traditional Japanese concerns –such as paying homage to the seasons, and the slow development of the motif – are married with contemporary industrial production techniques, with a complicated stencilling process building up the image. The simplified shapes come from everyday life, with the ordinariness of pen lids or leaves counteracting any exotic Western perception of Japanese painting….
(Quoted from review by Simon Webb, Metro Life 2002)