Hisashi Tenmyouya

Hisashi Tenmyouya advocates for a unique artistic style called "Neo Nihonga", which revitalizes traditional Japanese painting in a contemporary context. He proposes the lineage of extravagant and unconventional beauty as "BASARA". In 2006, he was the only Japanese artist selected to create an official art poster for the FIFA World Cup in Germany. 

In 2008, his work “RX-78-2 Kabukimono 2005 Version” was auctioned at Christie's in Hong Kong, fetching 4.81 million Hong Kong dollars (approximately 64 million yen), drawing international attention. 

While preserving traditional painting techniques, Tenmyouya breaks away from the conventional norms and customs of Nihonga, innovatively transforming the style and incorporating themes relevant to contemporary society. His unique concepts and worldview have earned him widespread acclaim both in Japan and abroad, solidifying his status as one of Japan's leading contemporary artists. 

"Neo Nihonga" is not a concept dependent on materials or mediums. While inheriting elements such as line-drawing techniques (iron-wire lines, varied-thickness lines, white-line drawings), “tarashikomi” (dripping technique), negative space, ornamentation, spirituality, and symbolism, it incorporates modern materials like acrylic paints to depict contemporary culture, social satire, Buddhist art, and Zen art. By referencing the essence of classical traditions while vividly portraying the modern world, "Neo Nihonga" is defined as the contemporary form of "Japanese painting".

The concept of "Japanese painting" (Nihonga) did not exist before the Edo period; it was coined during the Meiji era as a counterpoint to Western-style painting (Yōga). "Neo Nihonga" seeks to sever ties with the authority structures of the modern and contemporary Nihonga art world, redefining itself by exploring the expressive approaches of pre-modern Japanese painting schools in a contemporary context. It is a style that distances itself from conventional "Nihonga" to reimagine and modernize the essence of Japanese artistic traditions. 

A characteristic of Japanese culture is its long-standing tradition of swiftly adopting foreign influences and refining them to create uniquely sophisticated and highly creative cultural expressions. Hisashi Tenmyouya is a contemporary artist who has inherited the rebellious aesthetics of Japan, such as the “basara” of the Muromachi period and the “kabukimono” of the Sengoku period. By incorporating the pop-like surface aesthetics and sensibilities depicted in these traditions, he has established a one-of-a-kind genre rooted in Japanese cultural identity: "Neo Nihonga". 

  

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Major Awards

1990: Received the Jury's Prize at the 11th Japan Graphic Exhibition 

2003: Awarded the Excellence Prize at the 6th Taro Okamoto Memorial Award for Contemporary Art Exhibition 

 

Public Collections

 Chazen Museum of Art (Madison, USA) 

 Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (Houston, USA) 

 Art Gallery of South Australia (Adelaide, Australia) 

 Takamatsu Art Museum (Takamatsu, Japan) 

 Takahashi Collection (Tokyo, Japan) 

 Taguchi Art Collection (Tokyo, Japan)