ARTIST STATEMENT
2012年 04月 01日
I was born in countryside and used to play in nature, climbing
trees, hills, swimming in the river, and so on. When I was 22 years
old, I started painting by self-taught. I wanted to paint nature which
I had seen for long time.
At first I used oil. But soon changed to watercolor because the
atmosphere of oil painting was very different from what I saw in
nature, feelings of transiency and infinity of the universe. After 23
years, when I was 45 years old, I began Sumie, black and white
painting using Japanese and Chinese traditional black ink on white
paper. Because watercolor was not enough for me to express what I
saw in nature.
When I painted by watercolor, I tried to express the feeling of
transiency by layering thin colors. But about infinity feeling, I could
not catch it at that time. When I got to know the limits of watercolor
expression, I started Sumie. But it was very different from watercolor.
By trial and error, I found many unexpected things; nature became
just a symbol, using many wet-in-wet washes invited natural
phenomenon in painting, and the unpainted parts, like the mountain
covered with snow, cloud, and mist, showed me a great wisdom of
how to live. To express without painting implies for me to live
without ego, let it be, let it go. Then I found infinite silence and
stillness in the black painted background where all transient things
come from and go back to. I realized the relation between transiency
and infinity.
Since then to connect these silence and stillness is my primary
thing to paint. Now I do not want to put myself into my painting
because I have known that I am not the man who paint a picture but
a witness to the manifesting art. I just want my painting to be a clear
mirror. As myself goes out from painting, so it reflects your being
clearly. Thank you.
Mountains. Place of silence.
by Marina Medina, curator
The encounter of the people with the mountains is an extraordinary
encounter because in many cultures and religions the belief has always
been that the gods live up there on their summits. Mountains are
therefore in close connection with religion and spirituality.
According to Greek mythology, was believed that the god Zeus has
been born and raised on Mount Ida on the island of Crete. Later Zeus
chose Mount Olympus as the home of the Greek gods.
In our culture, mountains play a crucial role in history because a
number of important events happened on the mountains as told in the
holy writings of the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and
Islam).
God Yahweh met Moses several times on Mount Sinai. There Moses
received the ten commitment, which regulate the relationship between
God and humans as well as the inter human relationship. Noah's Ark
stranded on Mount Ararat after 40 days and 40 nights of deluge. From
there, a new chapter in the history of mankind begins. Christians
associate Mount Tabor with the place of theTransfiguration of the Lord.
Here Jesus appeared to his disciples in divine form. According to the
Koran, Mohammed received his revelation on Mount Hira.
According to the tradition of Eastern religious belief, mountains are
also seen as the seat of gods or spirits, or even revered as sacred.
Mount Kailash is a sacred mountain for followers of Tibetan Buddhism,
Hinduism, Jainism and the Bon religion due to its distinctive
symmetrical shape resembling a crystal. Out of respect for its religious
significance, the Kailash remained therefore unclimbed. Every year,
the Kailash attracts thousands of pilgrims who, depending on their
faith, circulate it in one direction or the other.
Fujisan, Japan's highest and most beautiful mountain, has always
been considered sacred in Shinto. On its feet and slopes thousands of
shrines have been built to worship different deities.
No artist conveys the representation of mountains as place of
spirituality like Koichi Yamashita. His works radiate silence and
tranquillity and give the feeling of being connected to the universe.
Koichi Yamashita specializes in an ancient tradition of painting, which
is known in Japan as Sumi-e ("Sumi", means ink and "e" means picture,
painting). In Japan, ink painting is closely associated with Zen
Buddhism, where the essential is reduced to simplicity and plainness
and attention is paid to extreme perfection. Originally this painting
technique was used by Buddhist monks in China as well as in Japan,
later with the spread of Zen Buddhism in Japan it was intensively
adopted in different Zen schools. The reduction to the essential also
reflects the Japanese spirit in art.
Mastering the art of Sumi-e requires an extraordinary sensitivity and
attentiveness because every stroke of the brush is irrevocable. In
every picture of the artist Koichi Yamashita the spiritual structure of
the mountain is noticeable, the character of his being appears and lets
the observer, completely in the sense of Zen Buddhism, feel one with
the universe.
Koichi Yamashita is a great Sumi-e master who impressively depicts
the colossuses of nature as places of silence where the soul of
Zen-Buddhism can be recognized.
May all visitors to this exhibition as well as the readers of this
catalogue feel the touch of the spirit of Zen-Buddhism and share it
with joy.
( This sentence is from the catalogue of the exhibition "Mountains.
Place of silence" at Lexus Forum Darmstadt in Germany 2019)
KOICHI YAMASHITA
1965
Born in Gumma Prefecture Japan.
1978
Read Colin Fletcher “The New Complete Waker” and yearned for wilderness.
1979
Read H.D.Thoreau “Walden-or Life in the Woods” and started solo trekking.
1984
Entered Shinshu University (department of science). Climbed Japan Alps.
1987
Started painting by self-taught.
1989
Graduated from Shinshu University (ecology major).
1990~2017
Selected contests (awards received).
1992
Started solo exhibitions.
1997
Started Zen practice.
1998
Traveled European countries and U.S. for four months to see historical
masterpieces in major museums.
1999
Visited major museums and galleries in Japan.
2010
Started Sumi-e (painting with black ink on paper).
2012
Selected for art book “Beautiful Japanese Landscapes by Watercolor”
2013~2017
Selected for art magazine.
2018
Solo exhibition in Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
2019
Solo exhibition in Darmstadt, Germany.
Solo exhibition at Northern Alp Museum, in Hokkaido Japan.
Lectured at the headquarters of Japanese Zen Buddhism Oubaku-shu school
about the common ground and meaning of science, art, and religion.
2022
Solo exhibition in Crestone, Colorado US.
2023
Solo exhibition in Pasadena, California US.
Solo exhibition in Crestone, Colorado US.
2024
Art Show in Crestone, Colorado US.
Art Show in Pasadena, California US.
Art Show in Denver(two places), Colorado US.
