HARA Hiroshi Exhibition | Artist Talk

Sunday, January 11, 2:00 PM

Hara Hiroshi
“The Possibilities of Two-Dimensional Works”

At Artland Gallery, an artist talk for the HARA Hiroshi Exhibition was held on January 11.

Despite the severe cold weather, far more visitors attended than expected, and we would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who joined us.

At 2:00 PM, following a brief opening greeting, a shakuhachi performance by Shoji Katsuji, who traveled from Hiroshima for the occasion, began the program. His passionate performance, lasting a little over twenty minutes, energized the space and naturally led into the artist talk.

This solo exhibition by Hara Hiroshi marks the eighth presentation since his first exhibition in 2012. Hara spent his student years in the late 1970s, a period when the art world was already proclaiming that “painting was finished,” and it was under these circumstances that he began his career as an artist.

Reflecting a continuity of this long-standing concern, the theme of the current talk was titled “The Possibilities of Two-Dimensional Works.”

During his university years, Hara Hiroshi was profoundly influenced by the lectures of Mono-ha artist Lee Ufan. As a result, he came to base his practice on the idea of regarding paint not as a means of coloration, but as a material with which to construct the pictorial plane.

In the context of the present exhibition, Hara offered an especially memorable comparison: while the works of Tanikawa Hiroko may be understood as paintings of light, using paint as the color of visible light, his own works approach paint as matter—paintings understood as things in themselves.

Hara initially began with oil painting, then moved into ink painting. From 2015, he introduced soot derived from oil smoke, and in 2025, he further incorporated acrylic. In the cases of ink and soot, the substance of “soot” itself functions as paint. Acrylic, meanwhile, is not used to depict something from reality, but rather to transform paint itself into something visible as “noise.”

From this talk, it became clear that Hara Hiroshi is not attempting to depict the phenomenon of light, but instead continues to pursue the possibility of presenting the thing itself that appears to us as light. Through this ongoing inquiry, he seeks to open up new possibilities for two-dimensional works.

Artist Name: HARA Hiroshi 　Real name: TANIKAWA Hiroshi

Born in Takamatsu City, 1956. Graduated from Tama Art University, Department of Painting, 1979 Born in Kagawa, Japan in 1956, Hara majored in oil painting at Tama Art University. After experimenting with various materials such as glass and bark, since 2003, he has been using handmade Japanese paper and ink (Suiboku-ga technique) to create minimalistic works on the theme of "phenomenon and action". Currently, he is not concerned with the material of expression in his work. He believes that self-expression is born from an internal necessity and that it is important to compare the self (our culture) with others (other cultures).
He has participated in numerous exhibitions including Art Fair Tokyo (2008-2010), Art HK (Hong Kong, 2010), Art Taipei 2012 (Taipei, 2012), Unbound Perspectives Exhibition (New York, 2012), Kagawa Yamanami Art Festival (Kagawa Prefecture, 2013-2019). He has participated in many exhibitions such as Art Taipei 2012 (Taipei, Taiwan, 2010), Unbound Perspectives Exhibition (New York, 2012), Kagawa Yamanami Art Festival (Kagawa, 2013-2019).

Solo Exhibitions
2024 “Hiroshi Hara Exhibition: With the Kaiganji Temple Barrier Paintings,” Nakatsu Banshoen Marugame Museum, Marugame, Kagawa , 2023 “Hiroshi Hara × Hiroko Tanikawa Exhibition,” Artland Gallery, Marugame, Kagawa, 2022 “Hiroshi Hara 1975–2022,” Art Echo Gallery, Manno, Kagawa
2019 Kamado Hall (Sakaide, Japan), 2016 Art Beatus HK (Hong Kong), 2012, 14-17, 19,21 Artland Gallery (Marugame, Japan), 2007, 08, 10, 15, 18 Gallery Natsuka (Ginza, Kyobashi, Tokyo), 2008 Art Beatus Van ( (Bankvar, Tokyo), 2008 Art Beatus Van (Bankvar, Tokyo)