Contemporary Japanese Abstract Painting... sounds surprising. Well, it does exist! Abstraction in Japanese art is rich and has no lack in contemporary spirit showing its eagerness to become one of the self-sufficient current at the world art scene. 
 
In spite of strongly figurative art trends generated by post-modern culture and the stiff image of contemporary Japanese art as a character-based imaginary Frantic Gallery proposes exhibition that insists on existence of non-figurative expression in contemporary Japanese art as well as possibility of its full valued participation at the art market. Overcoming common stereotype of abstraction as something “dull”, “difficult” or “old-fashioned” presented Japanese artists: 

1. are young and provocative in their artistic stances (Haruki Ogawa recently presented his solo show “Irritated Figures”, at which he was showing concrete images in process of losing their shapes and turning into painterly substances; Ken Hayashida provoked wave of discussion of his “dirty paintings” during “2010 FRANTIC UNDERLINES” exhibition this year.)

2. are courageous in using New Media (Cousteau Tazuke applies acrylic resin to research the basic elements of paintings, namely “a line” and “a dot”; Ogawa researches visual effects of alkyd mixed with oil and pastel.)

3. actively research new artistic methods (Tazuke carves into clear acrylic panels, pours acid-colored paint in the resulting cavities and then exhibits these works backwards, thus subverting the opposition of the front and the rear of the picture and transcending the borderline between the process of carving and the work of drawing; Hayashida uses bee wax and hemp string to stress the surface of the painting; Ogawa combines acrylic paint with silk screen technique)

4. and while being in a search for con-temporary means of expression pay attention to their native traditional Japanese culture (Ogawa experiments in using acrylic paint in the way ink is applied in Japanese ink paintings; Tazuke tries to bring essences of Japanese painting into three dimensional expression; Hayashida applies hemp string in the way Japanese calligraphy functions in imaginary of folding screens and other Japanese visual devises). 

Thus, presented booth project - having particular musicological ambitions - is offering to international public works of young and provocative Japanese artists, who are searching for their niche in the world contemporary art without neglecting the relationship with their national culture and tradition.

We hope that this exhibition will expose new unexpected side of contemporary Japanese art and make its impact on the art scene in general with unprecedented experiments in the realm of nonfigurative expressions.