A Rich Natural Beauty Filled with Sincere Emotions
Director of the art magazine “Univers des Arts”
Patrice de la Perriere
Born in Nagano Prefecture, Obinata became aware that art, especially drawing and painting, was the source of pleasure and enjoyment for him after winning a special mention in a sketching exhibition at the age of 13. He later joined the art club at university, but had to take a break from painting when he got a job to earn a living. In 1985, however, a painting he did on a business trip, “The Great Wall of China,” was selected for an art exhibition at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, and he decided to return to the path of painting. Since then, while continuing to work, he has been making watercolors and developing his own unique style of painting. I can’t help but be impressed by Transparency achieved through the contours of the drawing and the skillful manipulation of paint and the bright saturation and depth of the finish. His landscape paintings are outstanding because of the quality, sensitivity, and the sincere emotion that overflows from the nature depicted. It’s no surprise that he has received numerous awards, including Association Franco-Japonaise des Arts Tricolour Art Prize in 2010 and the AICA Japan (International Association of Art Critics Japanese Section) Award in 2013. In addition to various group exhibitions, Obinata had solo exhibitions at the galerie Etienne de Caussan in Paris in 2016 and at the George Billis Gallery in New York in 2019.
Obinata’s powerful style reflects everything he feels when he faces to the scenes and nature. The composition is carefully considered for each piece, and the delicate nuances scattered on the canvas give the entire work a lively sparkle. For Obinata, an artist who reminds of the impressionists, nature is first and foremost a never-ending source of inspiration, a blessing full of interesting discoveries for both artist and viewer. The process of layering colors, emphasizing and softening them, gives the work a vivid, rich texture and is a perfect embodiment of his sensitivity. This is undoubtedly his vision of life and the things that make it up, and he reflects what he feels in his work as it is, and intuitively. Rather than expressing motifs in his paintings, he seems to be trying to make the viewers enjoy the joy of rediscovering something unknown that they thought they knew, which is glimpsed in his paintings.
For Obinata, art was a place where all of his potential could be realized, and the enthusiasm and passion that led him to his vocation was constantly being preserved in the depths of his mind. The painting world of Makoto Obinata, an energetic artist and unmistakable natural singer, will continue to fascinate us with solo exhibitions.
A vigorous artist and unmistakable singer of nature, the painting world of Makoto Obinata will continue to fascinate us with his solo exhibitions and other activities in the future.
Director of the art magazine “Univers des Arts”
Patrice de la Perriere
Born in Nagano Prefecture, Obinata became aware that art, especially drawing and painting, was the source of pleasure and enjoyment for him after winning a special mention in a sketching exhibition at the age of 13. He later joined the art club at university, but had to take a break from painting when he got a job to earn a living. In 1985, however, a painting he did on a business trip, “The Great Wall of China,” was selected for an art exhibition at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, and he decided to return to the path of painting. Since then, while continuing to work, he has been making watercolors and developing his own unique style of painting. I can’t help but be impressed by Transparency achieved through the contours of the drawing and the skillful manipulation of paint and the bright saturation and depth of the finish. His landscape paintings are outstanding because of the quality, sensitivity, and the sincere emotion that overflows from the nature depicted. It’s no surprise that he has received numerous awards, including Association Franco-Japonaise des Arts Tricolour Art Prize in 2010 and the AICA Japan (International Association of Art Critics Japanese Section) Award in 2013. In addition to various group exhibitions, Obinata had solo exhibitions at the galerie Etienne de Caussan in Paris in 2016 and at the George Billis Gallery in New York in 2019.
Obinata’s powerful style reflects everything he feels when he faces to the scenes and nature. The composition is carefully considered for each piece, and the delicate nuances scattered on the canvas give the entire work a lively sparkle. For Obinata, an artist who reminds of the impressionists, nature is first and foremost a never-ending source of inspiration, a blessing full of interesting discoveries for both artist and viewer. The process of layering colors, emphasizing and softening them, gives the work a vivid, rich texture and is a perfect embodiment of his sensitivity. This is undoubtedly his vision of life and the things that make it up, and he reflects what he feels in his work as it is, and intuitively. Rather than expressing motifs in his paintings, he seems to be trying to make the viewers enjoy the joy of rediscovering something unknown that they thought they knew, which is glimpsed in his paintings.
For Obinata, art was a place where all of his potential could be realized, and the enthusiasm and passion that led him to his vocation was constantly being preserved in the depths of his mind. The painting world of Makoto Obinata, an energetic artist and unmistakable natural singer, will continue to fascinate us with solo exhibitions.
A vigorous artist and unmistakable singer of nature, the painting world of Makoto Obinata will continue to fascinate us with his solo exhibitions and other activities in the future.