Interview

Feb 14

Minoru Nkajima
(Sonora Design)

Minoru was born in Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan. He graduated in fashion design from Tokyo Designer Gakuin College. He then took a textile design course at Vantan Design Institute. Minoru is also a multimedia graduate of Digital Hollywood University.

After many years of experience as a fashion designer, fashion director and graphic designer, Minoru became an artist.

He creates abstract paintings, Blythe dolls, and illustrations based on girls from imaginary worlds. He expresses a picture drawn digitally as if it were analog, and conversely, sometimes incorporates digital techniques into analog drawings.

Minoru is currently based in Tokyo doing pop art, illustrations and abstract art.

What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?

“I’ve worked in the fashion industry for many years. Fashion is a process of creating something new and throwing it away within certain constraints. I felt limited and unable to fully express myself in this industry. I wanted to expand the range of my expression, and so I started abstract painting and silk-screening. That was more than 10 years ago.
Today, I mainly create illustrations of women and abstract paintings.”

What does your work aim to say? Does it comment on any current social or political issues?

“In my abstract paintings, I mainly focus on texture. The theme of my work is ‘walls’, which sometimes divide people and countries. I hope to express people's thoughts about such walls with beautiful colors and textures.”

Which current art world trends are you following?

“In recent years, contemporary art is not concerned with techniques or materials. For example, a digital drawing is repainted on canvas as a rough sketch, or a digital illustration is silk-screened onto a textured background on canvas. This is a technique that was used by Takashi Murakami. The fusion of digital and analog is very new.”

“In my illustrations, I draw innocent girls as if they were Blythe dolls. The Blythe doll is cute and innocent, but has a crazy side. She is crushed by the pressure of society and an uncertain future.
This is a generation that looks innocent, but has an immeasurable darkness at the bottom of its heart.”

Do you plan your work in advance, or is it improvisation?

“For abstract paintings, I use a computer to make a full-scale composition of the overall color arrangement to some extent. Based on this, I paint the canvas with a palette knife. As I paint over and over, I start to improvise and change colors and lines according to my mood and feelings at the time.
For illustrations, I first think about the story and then decide on the figures. For example, when creating ‘Annie Wilkes & Wild pig’, I took into account that she is the main character in the movie ‘Misery’. How did she spend her childhood? I often develop images from such imagination, resulting in a comical and pop expression of my imagination.”

What process, materials and techniques do you use to create your artwork?

“For abstract paintings, I use acrylics and oil pastels, but not ready-made canvases. I use my experience as a textile designer to create subtle surface textures by applying a variety of fabrics to wooden panels. Sometimes I make original frames.
For illustrations, the original drawings are completely digital. I draw Bezier curves with a mouse, not with a pen tablet. I use Photoshop to smooth out the curves and make them look more like hand-drawn lines. I also use Photoshop to smooth out the curves, and then decompose the colors and silk-screen them. In some cases, I draw only the lines digitally and paint them with acrylic paints.”

What does your art mean to you?

"My work is the accumulation of the skills and experience that I’ve learned in fashion. It is a never-ending challenge to free expression.”

What’s your favorite artwork and why?

“The third piece in the Wonderwall series, ‘Wonderwall #3_NO.51’, is an abstract painting. I think I got the balance of colors just right.
Among the illustrations collection, ‘Room’ is my favorite. It's a pod-like room with only a girl in it. It's the world inside her head, but it's also the world of reality. The word ‘EXIT’ is written on the door. I was able to express the girl's inner world in a fashionable way.”

Have you had any noteworthy exhibitions you'd like to share?

“I’ve exhibited my work as follows:
2019 - Joint Exhibition of Creative Expression Today at Recto Verso Gallery, Japan.
2018 - Spain On Paper Print Exhibition.
2017- Japan Monster Exhibition.
I’ve not been able to hold an exhibition for the past two years due to the Corona virus. I’m hoping to hold an exhibition later this year.”