この度PARCEL では角田純の個展「A New Career In A New Town」を開催します。
1980 年代からデザイナー/ アートディレクターとしての活躍を広く知られている角田ですが、その裏では30年以上に渡って絵画を制作し続けてきました。彼の絵画は淡い色面や繊細なラインが特徴で、象徴表現でありながら光や音を感じさせます。作品からは一見素朴な印象を受けますが、同時にカウンタカルチャー特有の軽快さや、幻覚作用がもたらす視覚効果を感じさせます。切り詰められた表現の中に多様な文化様式や視覚的実験が反映されていることこそが角田の作品の魅力なのです。また同時に山梨県北杜市にある” Gallery TRAX”のディレクターとして、国際的に活躍する多くのアーティストを輩出してきたことで知られている他、作家との一点物の衣服を発表し続けたファッションブランド” Poetry of Sex” のディレクターとして、カウンターカルチャーのアートとファッションの融合を開拓したパイオニアの一人としてでもあるのです。今回の展覧会では角田の新作絵画の発表を中心としながら、作家の制作背景にある収集物や資料、また過去の創作物などを構成しスタジオ空間を模したインスタレーションを展示します。

2012 年に川村記念美術館で開催された「抽象と形態」において、角田の作品はジョルジョ・モランディの静物画と対比されて展示されました。モランディの作品は一見静かな静物画でありながら、配色のバランスによって色面ごとの境界線に揺らめきを表現しています。角田の作品もまた色面構成されたバックグランドに細かく描かれるドッドや線描が、画面の中に揺れるような動きを感じさせます。「静によって動を生み出す」表現に2 人の共通性を見出すことができますが、角田はこのような表現の成り立ちには瞑想や幻覚体験（ハルシネーション）の影響を指摘します。普段より色が鮮明に感じられ、光や物の輪郭が渦を巻いて動いて見える視覚体験を角田は絵画の描写や配色に反映しているのです。同時にグラフィティや書道に造詣が深い角田の揺れるような描線はそれら「文字を追求していく文化」が影響しています。つまりサイケデリックアート（幻覚美術）からグラフィティや書道まで、多様なアウトサイダーアートの表現様式を検証し、独自に編集していくことで彼の作品は作られていくのです。このような角田の「超感覚や反知性主義」的表現はスピリチュアリズムに明らかな類似性があり、シュタイナーのドローイングを始め、2018 年にグッゲンハイム美術館で個展が開催されたヒルマ・クリントの作風にも近しい印象を受けます。実際に角田はスピリチュアリズムに傾倒した90 年代に、山梨県に拠点を移した過去があります。

今回の展覧会では作家を招いたトークを開催するほか、過去の資料までを展示することで、過去のデザイナーとして仕事やGallery TRAX での活動。また現在の作品制作に至るまでのスピリチュアリズムに関する見解など、角田の作品の背景にある出来事を広く検証する機会となります。是非ともご高覧ください。

Even before turning into a full-time artist, and during his career as a renowned graphic designer/artdirector in the advertising field of the 1980’ s Tsunoda has now continued with his art practice for over 30 years. He is known for his distinct usage of vague colo rs and pale tones, combined with delicate lines, which can be symbolically referenced to sound and light. In addition there is a jaunty feeling from the counter culture which he has been deeply involved in, along with illusionistic visual expressions that can also be found. The diverse cultural aspects, and visual experiments portrayed through his works is what makes Tsunoda’ s work distinct and appealing to us. He also has been active as director of Gallery Trax, a gallery located in Hokuto -city of Yamanashi Pref. known for the birth place of many now internationally known artists. In addit ion he was one of the founders of “Poetry of Sex” , an experimental fashion label that created artist printed clo things, which can be referred to as one of pioneers who merged art and fashion. Through this exhibition at PARCEL, alongside with Tsunoda’ s newest works we will have a section which resembles his studi o to showcase his footprints of his past from graphic works to art, his private collection of various objects and books, to show the aspects hidden behind what makes him the artist he is today.

In an exhibition entitled “The Unseen Relationship : Form and A bstract” held at the Kawamura Memorial DIC Museum of Art in 2012, Tsunoda’ s works were exhibited in contrast of those by Georgio Morandi. Morandi is known for his still-life paintings, tranquil at first but soon you will realize the depiction of the shivering relationships of each color composed and placed against one another. In Tsunoda’ s works, a similar shivering feeling can be felt through the colors composed as the background, detailed dots and lines. Depicting momentum thr ough tranquility is a characteristic common to both artists, though Tsunoda refers to his as a result of his experiences with meditation, and certain psychedelic experiences, where colors are brighter than usual, and the rays of light and edges of objects whirl. The artist has been using these visual experiences as one of the elements for his works. Along with these visual aspects Tsu noda refers to his waving lines that are a frequently seen in his works as “a result of exploration of lettering” . Thus it can be said that the artist has explored and edited, in his own distinct way, various visual aspects of outsider art including psychedelic art to calligraphy and graffiti which was t hen reflected into his artwork. Similarities can be found in Tsunoda’ s “extrasensory and anti-intectualistic” approach and in the drawing of Rudulf Steiner, and even Hilma af Klint whose works were showcased recently in a solo exhibition at the Guggenheim in 2018.

Through various documents, and sketches we aim to portray the background of artist Jun Tsunoda, and the various aspects including his activities as a graphic d esigner, and his projects at Gallery TRAX to the influences from spiritualism. We are scheduled to ho st a series of talk-sessions which will be announced accordingly.