Back in 2024 we took a trip to Japan where I discovered not only a whole non-European approach to thinking about and making art, but also this specific artist; Ono Chikkyo.
Ono Chikkyo
He was a important 20th-century Japanese painter known for his refined nihonga (traditional Japanese-style painting) landscapes. This style was known for balancing realism and poetic atmosphere.
Ono Chikkyo
He was born in 1889 and apprenticed at 14 to Takeuchi Seihō ( a leading nihonga master ) to study traditional Japanese painting techniques.
He exhibited and won awards until he died in 1979 leaving behind an important legacy in Japan as a significant figure; preserving and advancing traditional Japanese painting during rapid modernisation.
Ono Chikkyo
As an artist he sought to have an honest and in a dialogue with nature ;
“An honest heart, a pictorial charm and honest dialogue between nature and myself this is what I wish to focus on”.
I see this in his compositions, for example when he crops into a small patch of tree top and sky.
Ono Chikkyo
He used Sumi ink and natural pigments on Washi paper or silk. These materials helped create the soft luminous colour which first grabbed my attention as they appear an incredibly modern palette of colours. The natural pigments sit on the surface of the paper which gives the crisp finish to his line-work.
Ono Chikkyo
Ono Chikkyo
Ono Chikkyo
