Artist Profile : Neo-Japonism artist and calligrapher RIE TAKEDA ( Hokkaido / Japan ) Rie started practicing calligraphy at the age of five under the creative supervision of her grandmother, a distinguished “GAYU-Ryu” calligrapher. Later she completed the master of the Gayu calligraphy school. It laid a solid foundation for her development of the SUMIE technique in calligraphic design.
Following her art and design studies in Sapporo and London, Rie’s inspiration and enthusiasm for new forms of art, paired with her knowledge of traditional Japanese craftsmanship and design, led her to discover the Neo-Japonism style. The artist’s past 15 years of living in Europe have been incredibly creatively productive. As well as Neo-Japonism painting, Rie produces calligraphy works, Washi paper/Vintage kimono collages, illustrations and works in Body-Art. Rie works on several projects, collaborations and exhibitions - both in Europe and Japan.
Rie passionately loves to discover a continuity of time and spiritual existence and develop what she refer to as the ’Neo-Japonism’ - a new form of style depicting and conveying the sense of Japanese aesthetics. She has not only found a new way of fusing her trained calligraphy and Sumie skills with Japonisme influenced paintings, but also of developing a fresh unity of traditional and contemporary art forms. Specially the “Painted Poems” collection is the first and most representative work of Rie’s Neo-Japonism style. Rie's artwork essentially seeks to create the best possible consensus with clear lines and a spiritual expression of calligraphy in an active flow of rich coloursand patterns. Her original poems are attentively composed in calligraphic design forms; they intertwine with a colourful part of the composition to create an atmospheric spirit.She calls this process harmonising- tuning a chord of choreography in black, a musical of colours and interplay of patterns. The inspiration for her work is everyday life’s living words and letters, as well as living colours, lines, patterns and shapes.
Photos by Raphael Rapior (Body-Art), Michael Eckmann (Painted Poems), Marc Doradzillo (Atelier/Work in progress)
