Year: 1999
Medium: oil on canvas
Dimensions: 72.7 x 91 cm (28 5/8 x 35 7/8 in.)
Acquired from SBI Art Auction, 2022
Two contrasting colors, red and blue, fuse over a gentle formation. The colors gradually darken into shadow towards the midpoint, so that they do not appear to blend with one another. Tatsuno produced several similar works during this period; many feature a dichotomy in terms of color or composition, and it is the artist’s skillful evocation of light and shadow that creates depth within the paintings. In this piece as well, it appears as if she has created the deep curvatures of draped fabric. Through illusions, such as perspective, the painting creates a false sense of space on the flat surface. Always aware of this illusionary nature, Tatsuno persisted with simple abstract expressions within the limits of such illusions. Indeed, the rich pictorial space created by the truly simple methods of chiaroscuro and complementary color contrast could be described as typical of Tatsuno’s work.
