Discover the poetic world of artist Shoko Sakabe at Un Air de Thé.
Photo credit: Shoko Sakabe
Landscapes by painter Shoko Sakabe in Bordeaux
Details of the painting titled Summer Landscape by the painter Shoko Sakabe.
Japanese artist Shoko Sakabe was trained in traditional painting in the Nanga style (南画) ("Southern Painting" in reference to the different techniques used by the Northern School and the Southern School in China according to the painter, calligrapher and critic Dong Qichang 1555-1636). This is a genre of painting developed in Japan from the 18th century onwards and inspired by medieval Chinese painting known as scholar painting . The pictorial rules are clearly recognizable: monochrome painting, the use of Indian ink and the theme of landscapes.
The kakemonos of Shoko Sakabe, the calligrapher artist
Shoko Sakabe began learning Japanese calligraphy at the age of four with Master Otani . She created a magnificent kakemono for the exhibition in our tea house, Un Air de Thé, which is directly linked to our world.
Kakemono means "hanging thing," a true traditional object. It is present in particular during the ritual of the tea ceremony to recall the season. It is traditionally installed in an alcove called Tokonoma . A support for calligraphy and painting, this object is regularly replaced depending on an event or the season.
Translation of the kakemono created for the exhibition:
日々是好日
“Ni chi ni chi (or Hi bi) ko re kou ji tsu”
With goodwill, every day is a good day.
Shoko Sakabe, the creator of the “Nyanga” style
Arriving in France in 2001, Shoko Sakabe has continually worked and developed her art and the technique of Chinese ink painting. For her, drawings that require no translation are a true language to better express her world.
She explains that her concept Nyanga is a portmanteau word created from the following words:
Nanga , the Japanese painting movement inspired by traditional Chinese painting known as "Literature painting".
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Manga , Japanese comics
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Nyan , the cat's meow! In other words, Meow!
With her imagination and a touch of humor, cats become Nyanga characters. When she was little, she loved reading manga like everyone else, with a slight preference for Yon Koma manga, four-panel comics. Thus, she creates Yon Koma Nyanga.
Simple, clean and Kawaii, that’s her style!
Nyanga by Shoko Sakabe
Reading direction to browse this Japanese comic:
1st box: top right
2nd box: bottom right
3rd box: top left
4th box: bottom left
Poetry and painting are closely linked in Japan...
Admiring the drawing above named "The Spring Cat" by Shoko Sakabe, ... The sonnet by the French poet Charles Baudelaire written in 1847 resonates in our ears...
In my brain walks,
As well as in his apartment,
A beautiful cat, strong, gentle and charming;
When he meows, you can hardly hear him,
So tender and discreet is his tone;
But whether his voice is quiet or growls,
It is always sweet and deep.
This is its charm and its secret.
This voice, which pearls and filters
In my darkest depths,
Fills me like a numerous worm
And penetrates me like a potion.
She puts the cruelest evils to sleep
And contains all the ecstasies;
To say the longest sentences,
She doesn't need words.
No, there is no biting bow
On my heart, perfect instrument,
And do more royally
Singing your most vibrant chord
May your voice, mysterious cat,
Seraphic cat, strange cat,
In whom all things are, as in an angel,
As subtle as it is harmonious.
Charles Baudelaire, The Flowers of Evil, the cat .
Photography: Alexandre Mariottini.
Come and discover Shoko Sakabe's exhibition
From Friday, February 10th until May 31st
Tea house with a touch of tea
33 rue Buhan in Bordeaux
Opening of the exhibition in the presence of the artist: Friday, February 17, 2023 from 6 p.m.
Bonjour greg.
C’est tout un ensemble de poésie qui semble danser avec les thés.
Dommage je ne pourrai pas venir voir.
Bonjour greg.
C’est tout un ensemble de poésie qui semble danser avec les thés.
Dommage je ne pourrai pas venir voir.
Des dessins pleins de délicatesse et de poésie. Merci pour cette belle découverte !
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