.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
Japanese artist Tomoo Gokita's striking grayscale geometric paintings have become instantly recognizable. Precisely achieved with acrylic and gouache in a highly contrasted gradation of black and white retaining the palette of pencil, his choices recall his background in graphic illustration. Gokita had already developed an international reputation as a master draftsman, particularly in charcoal, before making the move to canvas painting.
The enigmatic title Auris Externa meaning "external ear" in Latin calls to mind Gokita's bemusing thoughts:
"The picture is in motion from the moment the eye turns into an ear. For whom? For what? I don't know. I wait for "silliness" which lurks behind a kind of fermented unconscious, such as the act of eating a picture or putting a paintbrush in one's ear"
By painting non-representational geometric shapes and strokes, the artist playfully explores the range of possibilities that arise from varying shades of black and white.
The enigmatic title Auris Externa meaning "external ear" in Latin calls to mind Gokita's bemusing thoughts:
"The picture is in motion from the moment the eye turns into an ear. For whom? For what? I don't know. I wait for "silliness" which lurks behind a kind of fermented unconscious, such as the act of eating a picture or putting a paintbrush in one's ear"
By painting non-representational geometric shapes and strokes, the artist playfully explores the range of possibilities that arise from varying shades of black and white.