Toru Kuwakubo sees the Sea by Night and Day at the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation

Exhibition Preview: Toru Kuwakubo: The Sea by Night and Day, The Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation, London, until October 14 2012  
   
Kuwakubo’s exhibition at the Daiwa Foundation explores the idea of the sea as the origin of life, an unusual choice for an artist working in post-Tsunami Japan.

Last year’s natural disaster has caused Japanese coastlines to become associated with fear and destruction, but Kuwakubo’s vibrant colours and nostalgic settings attempt to dispel these preconceptions.

Dividing the exhibition spaces into day and night, he invites viewers to consider the seascapes as he has known them throughout his life.

His paintings depict everyday objects set within the vibrant and dramatic surroundings of the Japanese coast.

Although they originate from personal experience, the dreamlike quality of the images mean they often appear as if they are fiction, derived from the artist's imagination.

Toru Kuwakubo makes for an interesting exhibitor; his working practice involves adopting the persona of fictional painter Kuwoud Bonet, a character inspired by the Impressionists, in order to address the clichés he associates with "Art" and "The Artist".

• Open: Monday- Friday 9.30am-5pm (10am-2pm October 13-14). Admission Free.