Reon Otsuka
While studying in the Painting Course of Fine Arts in the Graduate School of Art and Design at Musashino Art University, Otsuka, who has been presenting works with themes of violence and the complex nature of humans, adopted the accidental staining technique presented by “Post-Painterly Abstraction” developed in the U.S. in the late 1950s, and established a unique method of expression through the combination of satin and ink. The ambiguity of the boundaries caused by smudges of ink in his works highlights the complex relationships between people and between elements, and the distorted contours created by smudges of ink emphasize the violent aspects of humanity, which is the central theme of his work. At the same time, he also expresses contrasting elements like kindness and empathy and explores a spiritual realm that everyone can relate to, focusing on the complex nature of humans.
The change came when he was about to complete his graduate studies. He said, “I wanted to take a break from the theme of violence. The reason I chose violence as a theme was because of my own nature, and to create work on that theme was to confront my own negative side head-on. It was very stressful. I became so depressed, and my life became unstable. Before I knew it, the houseplants I had been growing had died. I felt like I was hurting not only humans but plants as well.”
He continued, “I thought I should take a break from thinking. I wanted to create art with a natural feeling. At this moment, I needed to create simply because I liked the things around me, because I found the beauty in the shine of satin and the way the ink bleeds.” In the large work he completed for his graduation project, he depicted people relaxing freely, without any bloodshed or violence. He created new works featuring houseplants as motifs, and it seems as if he himself is in the “transitional stage from a period of violence to a period of purification.”
WORKS
BIOGRAPHY
Born in 2001
Graduated from the Painting Course of Fine Arts in the Graduate School of Art and Design at Musashino Art University
PAST EXHIBITIONS
2023.11 Group exhibition “I wrote the letter because I had no choice. What was the matter with the letter I wrote earlier? “at ena Art Gallery in Tokyo, Japan
2023.11 Group exhibition "new age entrophy" at Sho+1 in Tokyo, Japan
2024.8 Solo exhibition “Jet the Phantom” at Chateau Koganei, Tokyo, Japan
2024.8 Special exhibition “BLUE’s at converse TOKYO Shibuya MIYASHITA PARK in Tokyo, Japan
2024.8 “The 11th Mirai-ten (Future Exhibition) - Galerie Nichido Art School Student Support Program” at Ginza Gallery Nichido in Tokyo, Japan, grand prix award
2024.11 Group exhibition "+unknown" at Tachikawa Art Land in Tokyo, Japan
2025.1 Musashino Art University Degree Show 2024 in Tokyo, Japan, Excellence Award
ARTIST’S SNS
https://www.instagram.com/re_ono_er
