Year: 2021
Medium: plaster, cotton, acrylic on canvas
Dimensions: 55.5 x 48 x 3.5 cm (21 7/8 x 18 7/8 x 1 3/8)
Acquired from MAHO KUBOTA GALLERY, 2022
As the title suggests, this work depicts a view of the Kitakami River, the largest river in the Tohoku region in Japan. Yasui spent one month as an artist in residence at a roadside station in the Ogatsu district of Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture, where he exhibited many works while engaging with the local community. The Kitakami River, which meets the ocean in Ishinomaki City, underwent drastic changes to its landscape following the Great East Japan Earthquake due to flooding and land subsidence. Yasui creates extremely modeled supports of plaster and fabric on which to paint his works. What might Yasui have been looking at as he painted the bright summer landscape of the Kitakami River, facing its violent swell?
