Lot 627: Yoshitaka Amano , B. 1952 Wait! automobile paint on aluminium

signed in English Executed in 2008 automobile paint on aluminium

measurements note 120 by 140 by 10.5 cm. ; 47 1/4 by 55 by 4 1/4 in.

Hong Kong, Art Statements Gallery, Yoshitaka Amano: Deva Loka Rouge & Bleu, August-October 2008 (illustrated in the exhibition catalogue)

Art Statements Gallery, Hong Kong
Wada Garou Co., Ltd., Tokyo

Yoshitaka Amano was born in Shizuoka, Japan in 1952. He first established his reputation in the field of manga, anime, illustration and video gaming. Starting his career in 1967 he designed iconic characters for many of Tatsunoko Productions' greatest cartoons such as Gatchaman (also known as G-Force and Battle of the Planets), and Hutch The Honey Bee. In 1982 he started working freelance, and in 1983 he won the 14th Annual Seiun Award in the category of "art", an award he would continue to win for the consecutive four years. A versatile artist, Amano has also expanded to designing stages and costumes, creating stained glass artworks, and producing limited edition lithographic prints. It is upon this foundation that Amano started painting. In 1984, he published his first collection of paintings, Maten (Evil Universe). He went on to collaborate with numerous writers, creating almost 20 illustrated books that have sold millions of copies. These works include Hideyuki Kikuchi's Vampire Hunter D, Kaoru Kurimonto's Guin Saga, Yoshiki Tanaka's Arslan Chronicals, Rasen-O (Spiral King) and Chimera by Baku Yumemakura. At the same time, in 1984 he teamed up with director Mamoru Oshii to create the animated film Angel's Egg, which became a cult hit in Japan. The many films and books he contributed towards made him immensely popular in Japan, and the characters he created later brought him international recognition. His artistic success won him access to yet another format in the 1980s; concept illustration for video games. His first project, Final Fantasy, became an international hit. He also created character designs for the games Front Mission, Gun Hazard, Rebus (released as Kartia in the USA), and Emblem of Eru. In his painting he borrows directly from his own background and experience, as a creator of anime characters. He chooses to abandon traditional media, instead preferring to explore new avenues for his fantastical creatures, superheroes, warriors and heroines. This is evident in the current lot, Wait!, in which he depicts Gatchaman, using automobile varnishing and coating processes on aluminum panel. Through his use of contemporary hi-tech materials and production methods, Amano establishes a new language and context within the media by reworking pre-existing elements, thus realizing and maturing his own unique contemporary aesthetics. Unlike much contemporary art, the concepts of which - to many - may seem difficult to grasp, Amano's work is easily accessible and understood, arguably more so in Asia than in the West, as manga plays a more substantial role in Asia's popular culture. Not only does Amano embrace an art form that some might argue lacks intellectual depth, but in so doing, he manages to bridge the wide gap between the two opposing camps of those within art and those outside its boundaries. Himself the creator of iconic characters and series, Amano has been described as the "missing link" between Takashi Murakami's representation of the Otaku sub-culture and the new generation of Japanese artists, inspired by manga and computer graphics such as Mr. or Chiho Aoshima. Yet Amano is somehow broader than simply the icon of a Japanese social or artistic group. Indeed, he is the only contemporary artist currently to have the historical legitimacy of being a strong inspiration to the Otaku as he is the creator of some of their main sources of worship. In his role as a source of inspiration to a significant part of Japanese Pop culture, which includes Murakami and other now influential artists, Amano is set to remain one of the most influential Japanese artists of his generation.