Shinya TAMAI
Tamai was born in 1994 in Aichi, Japan. He majors in Japanese painting in Aichi Art University. He is a young emerging artist in the Japanese painting world.
His painting follows traditional Nihon-ga (Japanese painting) techniques. The base is Washi Japanese paper which is still produced in many regions in Japan. The colouring is particular, using powdered pigments: suihi-enogu and iwa-enogu, and gold and silver leaves and powder, and the agent is nikawa gelatine with water.
His painting is stylistic, and his theme is between fantasy and realism. He says that his painting roots in classic Japanese painter like ITO Jakuchu, TAWARAYA Sotatsu, and TAKEUCHI Seho, and his childhood experience; video games, movies, Manga, etc. Therefore his theme is mythological creatures and characterised real animals.
And yet, Tamai’s work is not a copy of old them, very convincing and appealing. It is because his technique is utterly sublime. We can see Tamai’s understanding of classic Japanese themes in paintings, and he applies them to modern painting: decorative, fantastic, and Japanese.
