Opening Friday September 11, 2009, Wako Works of Art is very pleased to present an exhibition of new paintings by Takeshi Masada. This will be his second solo exhibition at Wako Works of Art.

With his signature bold brushstrokes and vibrant colors, Takeshi Masada skillfully incorporates into his work popular found images such as stills from B movies and TV shows, photographs of tribal rituals and everyday scenes. Employing eponymous American TV characters for his new painting A Linked Feeling (2009), the subjects here are depicted through his rhythmic use of small and large brushes. In parts depicted solely by contour lines, or with only half of the facial expressions rendered readable, the forms appear to question the void, and stimulates the audience’s collective memory and conscience. Placed between the narrativity of the motifs and the poignant materiality of the paint, the viewer experiences something not unlike pulling at knots and tying loose ends at the same time.

Delving with “painting in the context of art history”, “the physical world and the self” and other various boundaries that surround the artist, the works in this exhibition reflects Masada's continuing contemplation of the possibilities of his art form.

» Press Release(PDF)