In 1986, Antoni Clavé travelled to Japan for the second time, where exhibitions of his work were being held in Tokyo, Osaka and Hakone. As on his first trip in 1972, he was fascinated by the country, which had entered head-on into a modernity that the Europe of the 1980s could only dream of. Despite the aggressive neon lights, the dizzying hustle and bustle of the city and its futuristic architecture, traditional Japan still maintained its presence. Calligraphy, Ukiyo-e and the graphic use of seals were all aesthetic shocks that gave the artist lasting inspiration. While in Japan, he didn’t make any sketches, but instead took photos and shot films in Super 8, all tools he used to collect elements for use once he returned to France. Pierre Cabane writes “Clavé passed through the prism of the Far East like Alice through a mirror; on the other side there was, in “painting the passing world”, a grasping of life and time, a poetic message expressed by a kind of rhythmic energy whose calligraphy determines the space and nourishes the lifeblood“. On his return, Antoni Clavé gave free rein to his inspiration and his creations were grouped together under the title Retour du Japon (A Return from Japan). In these works he combined Indian ink with his favourite techniques of oil on canvas and the collage of different papers.
It is the entire space of the painting that was transformed by the aesthetic impact of the Far Eastern approach to space. Clavé’s collages became geometric, constructed and architectural. Another characteristic element of this series is the stamp of his name made with one or more Japanese seals (hankos), which he liked to place on his paper or cardboard collages and his canvases. The inking, the stamping of the seals and the positioning of the resulting prints are an art form in their own right in the Far East, to which Clavé pays tribute by appropriating the use of these stamp-signatures.
Like a guest in the Far East, Clavé apprehends the full and the empty, the silence, the visible and the invisible, the opening up of a new field of possibilities, transforming, like a true alchemist, Western and Far Eastern contributions into pictorial treasures.
“Antoni Clavé – Retour du Japon” Clavé Fine Art Gallery from 05.17.2024 to 07.20.2024