Desire of Oil Paint

“When I think of "painting," I think of the texture and the expressive quality of oil paint, but for me, this expressive nature specific to the oil medium has changed over time. There is considerable scope within the oeuvre of oil painting, from thickly layered surfaces with austere tonality, to flat, thinly layered paintings where the materiality of the canvas is accentuated. It seems to me that some of the paintings could be rendered in acrylic paint but it isn't the same as oil, which has "considerably more scope within the oeuvre."

One of the reasons I use oil paint is because it feels like I can continually start over again and again and that the entire evidence of the process of creation remains on the canvas. Of course, most of the layers are hidden and obscured, but I feel as if they are rising up from underneath.

There was a time, historically, when oil paint was shunned precisely because of its expressive qualities: as if it was considered an obstacle to the communication of ideas and concepts, and somehow obscured direct expression. I think oil paint is similar to a physical body. It was probably originally created to depict something physical, human perhaps. It is a type of paint with such strength and expressiveness that at times it seems almost other worldly.

During the creative process, the physical state of the oil paint on the canvas sometimes determines the direction of the work but the development does not proceed without difficulty. There are many emotional moments, and sometimes my actions seem to be a bit desperate. The elements within the paintings are sometimes informed by the state or condition of the paint in the moment. This instigates an honest reaction, but it can also be misleading. In recent years, however, it is often in these moments of apparent deception that the vision becomes clearer.

The relationship with the oil paint seems direct, because I do not have an image of the finished work at the beginning. The feeling of starting without a goal can be unsettling, but it also gives me great hope that I will be able to see an expression or appearance of something through the paint that I could not have foreseen.”

Ryoichi Kobayashi
September, 2023

Hino gallery is pleased to present “Desire of Oil Paint” by Ryoichi Kobayashi from Tuesday, October 10th, 2023.

Kobayashi has been working with oil paint since the late 1980s, and the title of this exhibition seems to reflect his relationship with the material over the last 40 years of painting.

The artist's comments on this exhibition give the impression that the works are passively guided by the paint, but it is the artist himself who chooses the colors and moves the brush. The act of applying multiple coats of paint and the appearance of unexpected texture on the canvas are the result of the artist's response to the material’s reactive qualities (desire). In other words, "Desire of Oil Paint" is an impulse that has driven the artist to create oil paintings for so many years. It is an expectation in terms of the possibilities in painting, and perhaps Kobayashi’s own aspiration.

This will be Kobayashi's first solo exhibition at Hino gallery in about three years, and we will be showing his newest oil paintings, including two large paintings (238×194cm). We hope you will enjoy the exhibition.


*No opening reception will be held.