A Story of Color and Light That Lives on Forever in Painting
Curator of the State Hermitage Museum
Aleksey Bogolyubov
The works of Makoto Obinata capture the world brightly, and create a deep impression with innovative expression portraying a carefree spirituality. Obinata discovers and introduces us to the intimate beauty of familiar natural settings and everyday things. His portrayals, which employ this rare gift, lend his images an original quality, and lets one feel the beautiful sensibility unique to Japan that Obinata possesses. He understands the wonder and mystery of nature, and portrays what he has so thoughtfully observed with great care. His cityscapes of Nagano, his hometown, and Tokyo, as well as his sceneries of foreign countries, are creative as well. As an artist who cherishes every single thing he sees, and expresses his own sensibilities while upholding tradition, Obinata shares with the viewer what he has discovered through his work.
Obinata has a diverse creative style that lends his work a wide variety of expression. Although as a painter he is a realist, depicting nature and scenes of town, his work is filled with poetry. His work brings a mysterious sensation to the viewer that they are seeing familiar landscapes for the first time, drawing them deep into the world of the piece. His painting style is light and translucent, expressed in bright, vivid colors, with pale lines that seem to blend into the background. It is as though the space in the painting is illuminated by the light of his warm, artistic colors.
At times, there is something in his works reminiscent of the old masters. Obinata has discovered a new charm in traditional portrayal and has made it his own. The world Obinata expresses is many-faceted, helping us understand things about the world around us and making it familiar. This is because in Obinata’s hand, the difficult becomes easy, turning into an artistic story. With his unique talent, Obinata is able to have an intimate conversation with the viewer through his work.
Furthermore, among his works, many contain deep philosophical meaning. In particular, his use of roads as a motif catches the eye. He takes joy in portraying this road motif in a variety of ways, including roads that blend into the scenery of town, forest roads, roads over the ocean that sprawl all over, roads made of round stones, and roads shining in the sunlight that feel historical, as though they have been stretching on for centuries. Obinata’s artistic talent is most apparent in his paintings of natural landscapes. He depicts the splendid beauty of nature with rich colors.
Obinata is a painter who conveys the impression of colors with great talent. This is because he is in love with a world that is forever and beautifully changing, and with the rich colors that fill everyday life. Nature is the most splendid art, with colors conveying the different seasons, from the summer noontide heat to the freezing winter cold. Landscapes depicted following nature and using natural colors, in his hands, come to life within the picture, creating unique melody. The free and vivid movement of the brush is truly exquisite and will enchant the viewer as well. Some pieces have a clear, hard touch, while others have a soft, light touch, illuminating his artistic expression. Obinata’s unique talent and eye for the world around him are wonderful, and, with the strong emotions they create, play an important role in cultivating the artistic sensibility of the viewer.
Curator of the State Hermitage Museum
Aleksey Bogolyubov
The works of Makoto Obinata capture the world brightly, and create a deep impression with innovative expression portraying a carefree spirituality. Obinata discovers and introduces us to the intimate beauty of familiar natural settings and everyday things. His portrayals, which employ this rare gift, lend his images an original quality, and lets one feel the beautiful sensibility unique to Japan that Obinata possesses. He understands the wonder and mystery of nature, and portrays what he has so thoughtfully observed with great care. His cityscapes of Nagano, his hometown, and Tokyo, as well as his sceneries of foreign countries, are creative as well. As an artist who cherishes every single thing he sees, and expresses his own sensibilities while upholding tradition, Obinata shares with the viewer what he has discovered through his work.
Obinata has a diverse creative style that lends his work a wide variety of expression. Although as a painter he is a realist, depicting nature and scenes of town, his work is filled with poetry. His work brings a mysterious sensation to the viewer that they are seeing familiar landscapes for the first time, drawing them deep into the world of the piece. His painting style is light and translucent, expressed in bright, vivid colors, with pale lines that seem to blend into the background. It is as though the space in the painting is illuminated by the light of his warm, artistic colors.
At times, there is something in his works reminiscent of the old masters. Obinata has discovered a new charm in traditional portrayal and has made it his own. The world Obinata expresses is many-faceted, helping us understand things about the world around us and making it familiar. This is because in Obinata’s hand, the difficult becomes easy, turning into an artistic story. With his unique talent, Obinata is able to have an intimate conversation with the viewer through his work.
Furthermore, among his works, many contain deep philosophical meaning. In particular, his use of roads as a motif catches the eye. He takes joy in portraying this road motif in a variety of ways, including roads that blend into the scenery of town, forest roads, roads over the ocean that sprawl all over, roads made of round stones, and roads shining in the sunlight that feel historical, as though they have been stretching on for centuries. Obinata’s artistic talent is most apparent in his paintings of natural landscapes. He depicts the splendid beauty of nature with rich colors.
Obinata is a painter who conveys the impression of colors with great talent. This is because he is in love with a world that is forever and beautifully changing, and with the rich colors that fill everyday life. Nature is the most splendid art, with colors conveying the different seasons, from the summer noontide heat to the freezing winter cold. Landscapes depicted following nature and using natural colors, in his hands, come to life within the picture, creating unique melody. The free and vivid movement of the brush is truly exquisite and will enchant the viewer as well. Some pieces have a clear, hard touch, while others have a soft, light touch, illuminating his artistic expression. Obinata’s unique talent and eye for the world around him are wonderful, and, with the strong emotions they create, play an important role in cultivating the artistic sensibility of the viewer.