Oil on canvas

41.1×34.6 cm. 16 1/8×13 5/8 in.

Signed in English on bottom left

LITERATURE
2023, KOJIMA Zenzaburo Selected Works & Catalogue Raisonné 2023 Vol. II, Yuyu Publishing Co.,Ltd, Tokyo, p. 107
EXHIBITED
14 - 29 Oct 2023, Zenzaburo Kojima Exhibition Commemorating the 130th Anniversary of His Birth: Coexistence with Nature - The Times are Beginning to Seek Zenzaburo, Mizoe Art Gallery Fukuoka, Fukuoka City

PROVENANCE
Private Collection, Asia

This work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity issued and signed by the artist's family

The Tranquil Beauty of Time, Realizing the Promise of Life
The Eternal Artistic Journey of Zenzaburo Kojima

Zenzaburo Kojima, dubbed the "creator of Japanese oil painting," is an important artist renowned for embracing heritage, opening up the future and exerting significant influence in the world of modern Japanese painting. However, throughout Kojima's life his art has changed as he moved homes, resulting in an artistic journey that can be divided into five broadly defined periods; early student training (1915-1925), time in Europe (1925-1928), the Yoyogi period (1928-1936) in which he initially focused on painting human figures, confirming his artistic direction and later shifted to landscapes, the Kokubunji period (1936-1951) when he started to focus on the beauty of nature and flowers, in which the artist's creativity reached its peak, and finally the culmination of his artistic career in the later Ogikubo period (1951-1962). At the current auction, we are honoured to present three exquisite works from the Kokubunji and Ogikubo periods, the most productive and creative time in Kojima's life.

Roses in First Bloom: A Crystallization of Strength and Tenderness

In 1936, Zenzaburo Kojima moved to Kokubunji City in the western suburbs of Tokyo, marking the beginning of the "Kokubunji Period" and launched his renowned rose-themed series of works. His art in this period was simple but replete with Western expressiveness, while also striving to capture the grace and style of traditional Eastern painting, reaching a creative high point in his artistic career. The painting Rose (Lot 2), completed in 1937, is the artist's earliest known flower vase painting to have "rose" in the title and stands as a testament to his original intent.

In this painting, nine pink-white and two dark red roses are depicted in full bloom against a tranquil indigo background, as the power of life radiates in all directions. The brushwork of Kojima is imbued with strength and structure that powerfully highlight the uniqueness of the individual flowers, endowing each one with the vital tension of life. The most eye-catching flower is the large multiflora rose on the left, with the pistil's three alternating pink-white arcs forming a stable triangular structure. The goose-yellow stamen at the center is surrounded by petals depicted by overlapping bracketed white squares, creating a kaleidoscopic crystalline effect that showcases a prism-like structure. Moreover, the centre of the composition, resembling the shyness of a young girl, is surrounded by two dark red roses, one higher, one lower, with colour gradients transitioning from bright red to pale pink and dark red, highlighting the interplay of light and shade. The other six roses form an outward-reaching arc, surrounding the central flowers, each one flourishing and expressing its uniqueness in different directions.

The celadon porcelain vase, rests on an orange table and is imbued with classical eastern charm and a harmony of coloured light that evokes a reality-transcending elegance. Kojima seamlessly blends Western ebullience with the graceful bearing of the traditional Rinpa School so they complement each other, revealing the artist's deeply-rooted national sentiment between strength and tenderness, with the rose - a symbol of "beauty, love, purity and virtue" - transformed into a permanent motif in his creative work.

Twilight and the Roaming of Heart and Mind at Lake Ashi

In 1951, during his last year in Kokubunji, Kojima painted six pieces featuring Lake Ashi and the auctioned work Lake Ashi, Hakone (Lot 3), is an excellent example of that work. It closely resembles another piece from the same year titled Morning at Lake Ashi, in terms of composition, but highlights the difference in time through its divergent angles and light. This is also reminiscent of the way in which French Impressionist master Claude Monet repeatedly painted the same subject with varied light and angles in works such as Haystacks, Rouen Cathedral, and Water Lilies. Moreover, Kojima's use of this method expanded his creative work and is a testament to the artist's determination to use "this creative style" in an effort to showcase "uniquely Japanese oil painting,"

Unlike the other five works in that year, which featured bright, sunny colours, Lake Ashi, Hakone portrays a scene at dusk and the artist employs deeper hues, especially the distinctive powdery orange colour of the lake, which reflects the setting sun and creates a romantic mood. The composition of the piece also uses lake Ashi as a dividing line that separates and contrasts the natural and cultural landscapes on opposite banks. On the other shore, the relaxed and lively brushstrokes used to depict the undulating mountains covered with lush greenery, reflect the natural rhythm and freehand brushwork much cherished by literati painters in the Edo-period (1603-1868). The smooth mountain ridgeline and long-winding paths include pointed umbrella-shaped trees, returning to the fluidity and spirituality of nature. The houses in the foreground are imbued with Rinpa type semiotic features and interestingly highlight Kojima's iconic geometric shapes - with a large number of triangular, rectangular and square-shaped orange, lemon-yellow, indigo and ochre buildings bedecking the mountains like a tangram. The composition is completed with dense shrubbery and flowerbed hedges painted using dabbing and shading strokes that infuse the lower part of the painting with a vibrant rhythm that is in perfect harmony with the small houses.

Abundant Fruit: The Simple Pleasures of Life

After moving his painting studio to Ogikuboin Tokyo in July 1951, Kojima focused more on mediating three-dimensional and two-dimensional expression. In addition to landscapes and flowers, he also began painting fruit, attempting to use Western Fauvist School-like vibrant colours together with strong geometric lines and compositions, in an effort to reveal the life energy and pure essence of things. Still Life (Lot 1), is an excellent example of the artist's new artistic approach in this period.

The long-stemmed fruit bowl in the painting recalls the iconic work Still Life with Fruit Plate by Cezanne, though Kojima opts for a glass bowl rather than a ceramic vessel, which deepens the sense of light and refraction of light. He also places the fruit bowl at the centre of the composition and like a flower vase it exudes a high elegance and vivid charm as it reaches upwards and spills over the sides. At the bottom of the bowl are ripe green grapes, with plump apples and Guifei pears arranged in an arc. The grid patterns and coloured lines of the table further heighten the visual impact, so that within the square divisions the arc of the container and fruit form a tightly-knit over-arching structure, presenting viewers with a sense of happiness and joy.

After moving to Ogikubo, Kojima quickly embraced a completely new artistic ambition: "The beauty of an unstable state, the feeling between stability and instability, these are the things I strive to capture." Still Life perfectly showcases this "beauty of motion and stillness." On the right side of the fruit bowl, a bunch of purple grapes reaches over the glass bowl and appears to be about to fall onto the table, with the thin-stem bridging the inner and outer space, creating an incidental and real-life charm. This brushwork extension perfectly guides the viewer's gaze downward to the ripe apples on the table, seemingly placed there after spilling out of the overflowing bowl. It injects a sense of something changing into what is otherwise a serene scene, embodying the "beauty of instability" sought by Kojima, which in turn encourages boundless imaginings in the mind of the viewer.

Price estimate:
HKD 90,000 - 150,000
USD 11,500 - 19,200