Acrylic on cardboard

43.5 × 60.5 cm. 17 1/8 × 237/8 in.

Signed in Japanese and dated on the reverse
PROVENANCE
Gallery Target, Tokyo
Acquired directly by previous private Asian collector form the above
Important Private Collection, Asia

Discovery Of The Self Through Unfeigned Innocence
Ayako Rokkaku's Dream World of a Young Girl

Born in 1982, Ayako Rokkaku officially entered the art world at the age of 20. She has never entered an art school, but with her strong artistic talent, she won the Scout Prize in GEISAI Art Festival contest hosted by Takashi Murakami with her painting of a large-eyed girl presented on cardboard in 2003. In the “2020 Global Young Artists TOP10 Auction Market Report”, Rokkaku was ranked fifth on the list with a total transaction rate of over ten million US dollars between 2001 to 2020. Her works were exhibited in Chiba Prefecture Japan, Amsterdam, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, and more. She embraced the spotlight of the international art scene.

Untitled presented here is made of cardboard, utilizing the natural texture of the material. Ayako Rokkaku uses a Gutai-like improvisation method to paint her iconic large-eyed girl. The colours resemble crystals that are illuminated by neon lights. At the hem of the girl's skirt, a smiling face formed by clusters of pink clouds rises up. The pink clouds are a metaphor for the guardian of the girl's spirituality, or her playmate, or a symbol of her creativity. The uncertainty of what the metaphor represents is the “untitled” element in the painting, providing the viewer with the liberty to interpret its meaning through their imaginations. With unrestrained freedom, Ayako Rokkaku uses her fingers to leave traces of colours on the painting, creating an unmodified and natural feeling that is as pure and sincere as a child's dream, evoking the viewer's imaginations of blissful moments.

The large-eyed girl's demeanour in the picture is like the juxtaposing bitterness of chocolate in a candy box. She rests her cheek on the one hand and stares at her viewers. Her facial features are exaggerated and full of cartoon-like emotions. Pouting coldly, she reveals her rebellious spirit. Her stern expression is a representation of the gradual progress of women's independence in the last century. Ayako Rokkaku believes that creation is an act of self-discovery. The young girl she depicts serves as a projection of the awakening of the artist's womanhood. The young girl stubbornly responds to external scrutiny while persistently guarding her own colourful world. At the same time, she shows splendid beauty without hesitation as if inviting viewers into her pure, free, and enthusiastic dream world.

Price estimate:
HKD: 500,000 - 800,000
USD: 63,700 - 101,900

Auction Result:
HKD: 936,000