Volery Gallery in Dubai proudly presents "Confronted with Light, Baroque in Shadow is Revealed," an introspective exhibition by the talented Keigo Nakamura, running from December 14th to January 9th. This marks Nakamura's first exhibition in the Middle East, offering a unique opportunity to experience his profound exploration of light and life. The concept, eloquently captured by writer and novelist Noel Ma, invites viewers on an enlightening journey.
Nakamura's work is a dialogue with the inner self, guiding the audience to their own 'light of life.' Mirrors in his art symbolize self-reflection and the perception of others, capturing more than mere images - they encapsulate the essence of life itself. The small, flickering light at the center of these mirrors represents universal warmth and connection.
The distinctive feature of Nakamura's work is the portrayal of shadows. These shadows evolve from colorless voids into vibrant stories filled with emotions and memories. They symbolize the artist's journey through life's challenges and his transition from darkness to light, from despair to hope.
A key piece of the exhibition highlights this transformation, reflecting Nakamura's personal confrontation with life's significant challenges. The artwork transforms shadows with hues from the surrounding light, conveying a message of hope and the potential for a luminous end to life's journey.
Nakamura's art, as described by Noel Ma, represents a journey from overwhelming challenges to a state of understanding and enlightenment. Initially dominated by immense shadows, his paintings eventually emanate warmth, illuminating the canvas and the lives of the viewers.
This exhibition at Volery Gallery is more than a showcase of art; it's a reflective and transformative experience. "Confronted with Light, Baroque in Shadow" invites you to step into a world where every piece is a journey towards finding the brilliant light at the end of life's path.
A mirror is the gaze of another. None of those mirrors fully reflect me, and all are directed at the small light in the center. I, too, am one of a being that looks into the light. The flicker of the small light is warm to us all. The painting shows that everyone silently faces life in their own ways. But looking inside the mirror closely, one can see that part of the teddy bear's body is also hanging in the mirror. The mirror in the artists' painting is no simple mirror that reflects objects, but a mirror that reflects life. No life can exist alone in the world. Therefore, the mirror reflects the small light that shines and the surrounding objects and others, implying the essence of our life and its fate.
However, the 'shadow' tells the most story in his painting. The artist hides more stories in the shadow that emerges from the tiny flicker of light. Before the shadow is painted with color and the painting becomes complete, the shadow is just a black-and-white shadow without any color. But once the painting is finished and appears before us, it becomes a shadow with color. The shadow in the picture is a dimension that goes beyond a simple shadow in reality. The artist says that he does not start the painting once it is complete in his mind but completes it while he keeps drawing it. In the end, the shadow in the painting is a totality of all the emotions and thoughts the artist felt while painting andthe parts of past, present, and future memories.
Especially in this exhibition, there is a particular work in which the shadows take up more than half of the picture plane. The motif of this work is the artist's memory of directly facing a colossal shadow in his life. However, in the completed work, the shadow is colored with the hue of its surrounding light and the color of the nearby objects. This conveys a message of light rather than darkness and hope rather than despair. The painting means that even though the beginning of life starts from darkness the end can be a brilliant light.
As such, his painting is a genuine inner dialogue and a tremendous journey to find our own light of life, like the calm of the sea that follows after letting the huge waves flow. The artist's painting, which started with a huge shadow, now warmly lights everything in the painting and the lives of us, the viewers.
– Noel Ma, Writer(Novelist)
Exhibition Dates:
December 13, 2023 - January 9, 2024 | 1:00 PM - 7:00 PM
