Oriental Fantasy ; Okuyama Tadashi’s World
Okuyama Tadashi 奥山忠 （1966- ）
Okuyama Tadashi is notable among living artists creating works of Oriental fantasy. There is something in Okuyama’s paintings that speaks to the heart. His paintings are inspired by Shinto deities and Buddha statues which he found very beautiful while he was exploring Tibet and India as he traveled along the Silk road through Asia in his early 20s. He saw statues over 2000 years old and found a timeless beauty in Buddhist iconography which he took inspiration from and applied to his works. He pursues the depth in Japanese art and successfully expresses it in his art. He himself experienced religious ecstasy in the Himalayas during mindfulness meditation. His motif of divine noble women are like an incarnation of Bodhisattvas (Nyorai). Let me explain the difference between a Buddha and a Bodhisattva. The main difference is that Buddha is an enlightened being, a person who truly understands the meaning of existence, whereas a Bodhisattva is a person still seeking enlightenment. A Bodhisattva is any person who is on the path towards Buddhahood. Okumura Tadashi studied electronics as his major at university but he loved painting very much so he decided to teach himself art. He did not attend art school or take lessons from a teacher and is entirely self-taught. He read old Eastern and Western art books, visited museums, and kept drawing and drawing. Soon after graduating he headed to India and Tibet where Buddhism was born. While he was travelling he searched for his own art style. He kept drawing and honed his skills as an artist. He has the ability to express a simply beauty In his art there’s something which goes to the deepest part of your heart and it stays there. His devotion to art, forms of prayer, simplicity of beauty are universal. Sacred and secular, dream and reality, Okuyama Tadashi’s works wander the narrow path between these contrary concepts. Among heaven and nature and people there is a “POWER” which connects them all.
Okuyama Tadashi is notable among living artists creating works of Oriental fantasy. There is something in Okuyama’s paintings that speaks to the heart. His paintings are inspired by Shinto deities and Buddha statues which he found very beautiful while he was exploring Tibet and India as he traveled along the Silk road through Asia in his early 20s. He saw statues over 2000 years old and found a timeless beauty in Buddhist iconography which he took inspiration from and applied to his works. He pursues the depth in Japanese art and successfully expresses it in his art. He himself experienced religious ecstasy in the Himalayas during mindfulness meditation. His motif of divine noble women are like an incarnation of Bodhisattvas (Nyorai). Let me explain the difference between a Buddha and a Bodhisattva. The main difference is that Buddha is an enlightened being, a person who truly understands the meaning of existence, whereas a Bodhisattva is a person still seeking enlightenment. A Bodhisattva is any person who is on the path towards Buddhahood. Okumura Tadashi studied electronics as his major at university but he loved painting very much so he decided to teach himself art. He did not attend art school or take lessons from a teacher and is entirely self-taught. He read old Eastern and Western art books, visited museums, and kept drawing and drawing. Soon after graduating he headed to India and Tibet where Buddhism was born. While he was travelling he searched for his own art style. He kept drawing and honed his skills as an artist. He has the ability to express a simply beauty In his art there’s something which goes to the deepest part of your heart and it stays there. His devotion to art, forms of prayer, simplicity of beauty are universal. Sacred and secular, dream and reality, Okuyama Tadashi’s works wander the narrow path between these contrary concepts. Among heaven and nature and people there is a “POWER” which connects them all.
Nippon Art Program: Collaborated With NAGAI Art Gallery
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