The paintings in Japanese artist Soichiro Shimizu's current exhibition "Sculpere" at Chulalongkorn University's The Art Center are all abstract.
But if you look more closely, there's a sense of balance and symmetry lurking everywhere.
His paintings are a random explosion of colours, yet you get the sense that everything is pre-calculated. His engraving on wooden panels sometimes look like an aerial view of the natural landscape, at other times, however, they look like a man-made imitation.
"I have always been interested in the concept of the human condition," said Shimizu. "Whether it's physical, like the almost-symmetric appearance of our organs on both right and left sides or our mental and emotional conditions."
Having been living in Bangkok as a full-time artist for more than 10 years, Shimizu is a familiar face in the city's art scene. "Sculpere" is his debut solo exhibition, and those who made it to Bridge Art Space's "Threshold" exhibition earlier this year will immediately recognise a gigantic engraving mixed with paint on wooden panels which has made its way here.
Shimizu usually paints using both his hands, himself in the middle of two canvases on the floor. Some pieces are done on canvases and others on wooden panels, but that's almost impossible to tell as there are countless paint layers applied. Asked if one particular piece has red or yellow paint at some point underneath, Shimizu smiles and admits that he really can't remember.
Soichiro Shimizu.
"Even though it isn't revealed, I believe that there's some energy that you can feel. At least that's what I hope," he said.
Even though viewers aren't allowed to touch his artworks, those who have managed to sneak a view will realise that his paintings are all about the texture he has created. After adding some layers of paint and waiting for it to dry, he would sand the surfaces off, erase some paint and roughen up the smooth surface again. This process was repeated over and over again.
Shimizu added: "Each colour choice depended on my emotions and my physical state. My hand movement also changed, maybe I felt stiff on that day or maybe I drank too much the night before."
All the pieces exhibited have been completed within a period of just one year, yet their damaged surface suggests a long time of bad storage.
"I like this kind of texture," said Shimizu. "It's what's I've been looking for. It looks rusty or metallic and many things else but no. All this is intentional, pre-calculated." His centrepiece sculpture, the only three-dimensional work exhibited here, echoes Shimizu's fascination with symmetrical forms. It looks like one gigantic rough-surfaced flower pot laying face down, topped with another. Around its base, there's a mix of blue and white sand. Like his all paintings, the work is puzzling yet captivating.
Shimizu's engravings are displayed further into the gallery space. One looks like an aerial view of a landscape of forest and blue-grey water, while another looks like a weather map. Apart from the engravings which have dug deep into the surface, on some pieces there's a trace of some random burning, as if Shimizu's art process is not about building something but going backwards.
Shimizu said the wood in his works represents nature, and how humans have damaged it. "My technique involves overlaying and then scraping away. What is revealed is what was always there," he said.
"Sculpere" is on display until Dec 4 at The Art Center, Chulalongkorn University.
