Hiroko: Moonlight
Hiroko’s new paintings, executed in black ink on a midnight-blue ground, are dark yet filled with light. This curious paradox begs to be explored more closely; it does not reveal itself to quick glances. If, however, we look at one of these works for a longer time, once our eyes have had the time to adjust, we soon notice the piece seemingly lightening up, allowing us to make out ever more details in the internal structure of the areas painted with ink. Moreover, if we then move, assume different viewpoints and angles or even test out different lighting conditions – ideally in daylight – we realize how incredibly light-sensitive these works are: Suddenly, the ink hardly appears black anymore, but rather grey or anthracite in different nuances, in some places silvery and reminiscent of the surface of slate, or – and this is the association hinted-at in Hiroko’s choice of title – like the reflection of moonlight on a body of water at night.
Water in the variety in which it appears, its liveliness and beauty, but also in all of its mutable and unfathomable nature time and again serves as a reference in Hiroko’s works, which in view of the watery consistence of her preferred painting media – ink and acrylic paint – immediately stands to reason. The artist’s background is in Sho-painting, an abstract form of painting developed from traditional calligraphy. The principles of this art form, the quick application of ink with the brush in a single working step and subsequently eschewing any retrospective corrections, continue to be important to Hiroko. The result is the interplay of a focused painting practice carried out by the artist in maximum concentration after extensive preparatory work and the stubborn material which can be rather unpredictable in handling. The movement of the heavy, ink-drenched hairs of the oversized brush, the dripping and splashing of the ink and in particular the specific way it dries, something that leads to the emergence of differently saturated areas, and at the same time creating an impression reminiscent of aerial photographs of mountain landscapes – these are all imponderables that mean that the finished painting invariably holds surprises even for the artist herself.
Hiroko’s works are thus characterized by a fundamental consolidation of opposites: luminous darkness, the interplay of planning and chance, as well, in their totality, their meditative quietness which stems from an extremely dynamic process of creation. All of this makes these works so touching and as intangible as the sparkle of moonlight in water.
Peter Lodermeyer
