REIJIRO KUDO       工藤 礼二郎

  I am alone in this museum breathing in the space where the works are on.

It is quiet on the Monday afternoon. And I am free from the passage of time and someone’s voice, people and consideration to others…. That is right, even in a museum where is nearly extraordinary, we are influenced, have an impact actually and subtly and move in a certain situation we are in, whether conscious or unconscious…. When I watched his works twice, I was still under that consciousness. However now it is different. I occupy this space, get free from the consciousness of occupancy, change the brightness of light freely, walk around, sit…. and appreciate paintings in this solo exhibition, while thinking that it would be impossible for me to have this kind of luxurious time …. and at the same time, I really wanted to do so to enjoy the change of this infinite pale color. Until the second time, inside the museum was lit brightly for the safety and equality of viewers. On the other hand, I felt that I was not able to say that I “appreciated” a fraction of those paintings. – It was “impossible “to spin any words at this stage. I started from turning off the lights completely. I was able to see some works due to the light through the window of the lounge on the mezzanine floor of U-FORUM MUSEUM. But this light made a line or a border looking like to cut the surface of painting…. I increased the brightness of the light little by little, walked around and repeated up to ten levels, finally I found the moment that the line disappeared, and the works were emerged. The painting in the back of the room no.1 has a light in the dark like “a guidepost” at night, not only the light but also the air in the dark appears…that is it, the process that the sun light of next day comes out from the real darkness…we live on earth as a living thing, exactly in light and dark…but we continue to live by control the light in “the life” producing the lights and focusing in work, study and entertainment, that’s why we took for “granted” that  the light was treated as something to be controlled.  The light on the road and also at the housing complex is better to be bright to avoid any risk and make illumination as attraction…I feel that it diverges from the underlying existence of our life that opens and closes our mind and body with the movement of sun.  I may be able to reconsider the relationship of light by encountering with those works…it was my intuition that I involved in his exhibition this time. As a result, it seemed to have been able to do to some extent in this blissful three hours. The creator told me that he had a study abroad experience and had been influenced by Flemish school. And there was the panel on the wall near the entrance on second floor which is described about the memory of “NIJIMADO” in teahouse. Those paintings had titles given names like “Lueur”, “Colonne lunaire”, “Colonne lumineuse” and “Remanance” and “Untitle”.  But I thought that they were just his consideration or classification for viewers and facing to his works was everything. In the back of the room no.2, there was a painting I could see a white column looking like subtly a cross. There was a painting like tribute on the wall on the right hand, a masterpiece based on white color in the middle and paintings based on black color on both sides. Especially, slight pink and green colors came out on the surface of masterpiece by changing the brightness of light. I realized suddenly the wavelength of colors-my cognitive function awakens at that moment, but it was fading little by little after gazing them.... I changed the brightness, then what was changed came out … our recognition reacts sensitively to the change, on the other hand our impression will be fade after getting used to change…I recognized such a thing. The intellectual understanding is possible in any way. First of all, I -advocating a dialogical appreciator -had a chance to meet and talk to the creator.  His stance for art is a sincere attitude and he is stopping a step before hidden thing that leads to religion. He told me metaphorically about his experience that he waked up in the morning light after drinking all night long in youth. This time I think that I was able to close to his works themselves beyond the linguistic explanation, to a few hours facing to them in changing the light and to the “journey” that the creator has been pursuing and would continue to walk. This is mostly the first solo exhibition which called up my activeness and gave me a new suggestion about the light. At the same time, I have found something new at the space in large room of U-FORUM MUSEUM, too...about the relationship of works and place.