Makoto Murata | Art Walk 10: Impressionism, Realist Painting, and Artist Units
This article discusses the popularity of Impressionism, the overabundance of Van Gogh exhibitions, the pursuit of realist painting, and the activities of artist units.Summary
The author discusses three topics based on recent exhibitions and artists: Impressionism, realist painting, and artist units. Impressionism remains highly popular in reader polls, with Monet, Van Gogh, Renoir, and Cézanne receiving strong support; the author suggests this popularity is fueled by numerous current exhibitions and notes that the works of artists like Manet and Degas can be complex due to reflecting the psychological nuances of the bourgeoisie. Regarding Van Gogh, despite three concurrent exhibitions in 2025, his ranking was lower than expected, possibly due to oversaturation or the financial needs of the lending museums (Van Gogh Museum and Kröller-Müller Museum). The article then focuses on two realist painters, Akira Mizuno and Atsushi Suwa, highlighting how they move beyond mere technical depiction to capture invisible elements like time and memory, thus transcending 'reality.' Finally, the author introduces three playful artist units—Akinori Matsumoto + Noriko Matsumoto, Rintaro Hara + Yu Hara, and Junya Kataoka + Rie Iwatake—noting their tendency for the male partner to handle kinetic/sound art and the female partner to handle colorful two-dimensional work, often using everyday materials.
(Source：artscape)