Photolike Painting Booming in Japan

A school of super realism in painting is fast finding a unique world of its own here in Japan as even artists in their 30's attract 40 prospective buyers to every work they exhibit.

Super realism - or you might call photolike painting that portrays objects in downright detail in the image of actual photography. They say common arts, western and Japanese alike, are dwindling somewhat in vivid contrast to what's happening in what you might call photolike paintings.

Takashimaya Department Stores is featuring a young photolike painter Kenta Nakajima since April starting at its head store in Nihonbashi, Tokyo, and on to Yokohama, Kyoto, and Osaka by July.

In Tokyo, Nakajima sold 90% of his exhibits - priced at over 1 million for portraits sold out the day they were exhibited. Four additional pieces ordered for exhibit in Yokohama were also sold out in advance in Nihonbashi.

Kenya Nakajima, 32 years of age, is a graduate of Musashino College of Arts. Only a decade to his credit as a professional, Nakajima has been in the limelight since his 20's and won a grand prize in the prestigious Nitten Exhibition in 2014. His new works are being waited upon the very opening day of his exhibition.

A Hiroshi Hara, a 51-year-old corporation skipper, happened to visit Nakajima's private exhibition at Takashimaya and fell in love with a charming painting of the sea done in super realism - already sold. He said:

"I wouldn't mind how much - I'm dying to have one of those....."

According to "Art Market 2017", only 49 of 370 artists, western and Japanese put together, have enjoyed some rise in price over the period 2012-2016 and 9 of those 49 are "photolike painters".

The rising popularity of super realism in painting has prompted Hoki Art Museum in Chiba to open the first exhibition of photolike painting in Barcelona, Spain, in 2018. (Nathan Shiga)

Source: Nikkei