NOBU FUKUI ~ 'LOOKING FORWARD' ~ at Stephen Haller Gallery

Saturday, 09 June 2007 21:27

New York City - Stephen Haller Gallery is pleased to present: NOBU FUKUI:"LOOKING FORWARD" a solo exhibition of complex canvases of dazzling energy. Circles of color dance against a background presenting a stunning homage to the art of anime and comic book heroes and heroines. The eye plays across the surface of his work as if watching a video game in giddy visual delight. On exhibition until 7 July, 2007.

Fukui’s work reads as non-objective painting at a distance, yet on closer observation beguiles with surprisingly provocative imagery glimpsed behind a foreground of painted circles. In this new work, Fukui plays with the contrasting effect of metallic or reflective surfaces and the receding quality of matt colors, some mirror back the gaze of the viewer, others draw the observer deeper into the work.

Oil paint, acrylics, three-dimensional beads, collage, an allover grid of graphite, sumi ink of the kind used by calligraphers, these are some of the ingredients of this exciting new work - “a virtuoso control over his materials” in the words of critic Carter Ratcliff, and a delightful expansion of his palette.

There has always been a push-pull in Fukui’s collage-based paintings of the last few years – a sensation of almost falling into the celestial spaces of the early series, or of being drawn in to the densely packed imagery of his Art in America or Superheroes series. His distinctly fresh approach creates a kind of Pollack-like frenzy of color re-inventing action painting with images.

What is personally intriguing about his work is that the eye of the viewer darts between the dancing circles of the foreground and the vibrant images, and is arrested by subtle hints of text in the newspaper ground or graphic expressions in the cartoon character’s balloons of text (which provide the titles of these paintings). The work provokes an engaging encounter with the viewer.

The freshness of the work – the dazzling overall color and energy - lifts the spirit and engages the observer in a game of associations illuminating the nexus of creativity and play. Visit Stephen Haller Gallery at : www.stephenhallergallery.com