Tenmyouya Hisashi, Pioneer of Neo-Nihonga

Hisashi Tenmyouya initially was a graphic designer. Then he scraped his fate as a skilled painter combines traditional Japanese art with contemporary elements. He calls this visual style as the Neo-Nihonga.



Ending a career as a graphic designer in one of the Japanese record company, Hisashi Tenmyouya switched to fine arts. He has high respect for the traditional Japanese arts and master the knowledge of this ancestral art history. Nevertheless, he did not dismiss the influence of the global world, especially those from the western world. Traditional elements, mixed with contemporary elements, then the visual characteristic.

As a painter, meticulous Tenmyouya combine traditional and modern Japan motives in his works to visualize his thoughts are often satire nuanced of the current condition of the society. He also had the honor of the Taro Okamoto Memorial Award in 2003 for his contribution was. Not to mention one of his paintings are adapting Gundam "RX-78-2 Kabuki-mono 2005 Version" appreciated 4.8 million Hong Kong dollars at Christie's auction house in Hong Kong. Apparently, the sale price of this fantastic break the curse that the artist's concern life.

For Tenmyouya, the artist was someone who had to transfer the concepts and thoughts on the material and words to convey a message to third parties, and that can change people's lives.

"Neo-Nihonga" means painting Neo-Traditional Japanese. Tenmyouya pioneered this concept because it is very unlikely reason for placing his works in exactly the traditional Japanese painting frame. Traditional Japanese painting is a genre that began with an opposition in Western painting styles were imported during the Meiji era. Traditional painters use mineral pigments and glue on silk and Japanese paper. But Tenmyouya using the same acrylic surface with mineral pigments and ways of expression that matched the ancient Japanese paintings. So be understood that the Neo-Nihonga is an advanced form of traditional Japanese painting.

"Finding new things to draw lessons from the past, is my approach to art", explains Tenmyouyasource: CONCEPT magz-vol06-ed32-2009