Twenty-five artworks, including watercolour, acrylic and mixed media, are on display at the exhibition. Five of these are done on kakejiku, a Japanese form of canvas that looks like scrolls of cloth.
Several of Naito's works in acrylic stand out. Heated silver foils produce the blistering beauty of gold in “The Universal Mercy.” Use of modelling paste along with Chinese and Japanese calligraphy further embellish the works. The calligraphy represents sayings of Buddha.
The Japanese way of painting boasts of exquisite perfection as per its lines, forms and textures. Naito's acrylics are no exception. Her style of symbolising universal humanism of Buddha on golden texture is truly mesmerising.
Though the artist formally belongs to the world of the realists, her watercolours would make an art connoisseur see abstract stories. The way she has portrayed the annihilations of two Japanese cities -- Hiroshima and Nagasaki -- on her canvases, reminds us of the unthinkable brutality during World War II. She has used charcoal for depicting black smokes as part of the atrocities. The artist has washed parts of that smoke (charcoal) to make the parts look grey. Depiction of lotuses in her works leads us to the eight peaceful paths of Buddha. On the whole, her art features fragmented memories of the past along with an urge to embrace peace.
The artist had a solo exhibition at Zainul Gallery back in August 2006. At that exhibition, 21 nature-themed paintings were on display. She used gold and silver plating, subuku (a Japanese
technique), mixed media, and acrylic as mediums. Her visits to Bangladesh have inspired many of her works.
Born in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan in 1963, Noriko Naito completed her Bachelor in Art Education from Yokohama National University in 1986. She participated and won prizes at several competitions, including Excellence Award at Asago Art Village Grand Prix Exhibition held in 2006.
The artist's next project is to display her works at Asago Art Village, Hyogo, Japan.
The exhibition at FFA ends tomorrow at 8 pm.
GS Kabir, a Bangladesh artist who did his PhD (2003) from Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, organised the exhibition
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