"I love painting on something that is much bigger than I am. Moving to and fro between the corners of such a huge canvas makes me feel as if the colours are flowing through my body."
— Ayako Rokkaku

 

Ayako Rokkaku’s work Untitled, created on site in 2007 during her solo exhibition Walkin Around Clouds at Galerie Delaive, is one of her earliest and most substantial pieces to appear at an auction The image depicts a young girl with prominent, expressive eyes that draw the viewer's attention, evoking a sense of innocence and curiosity. The floral elements surrounding her seem to be in a state of motion, enhancing the liveliness of the scene. The artist's technique of using her fingers is evident in the textured strokes and dabs of paint that give the painting a tactile quality. The choice of a warm, vivid palette creates a joyful atmosphere, and the loose, unstructured nature of the flowers suggests a sense of freedom and spontaneity. This piece might be seen as a celebration of the simplicity and wonder found in childhood, encapsulating the artist’s intention to connect with the pure joy of creation experienced during youth.

 

As a self-taught artist, Ayako Rokkaku's technique is highly distinctive, characterized by her use of finger painting, a technique she developed at the age of 20. By applying paint directly with her fingers and hands, she forgoes traditional painting tools, allowing for a more intimate and immediate connection with her canvas. This tactile approach brings a sense of spontaneity and raw energy to her work. The textures and patterns created by her fingers are unique and cannot be replicated with brushes; they bear the direct imprint of her physical interaction with the materials. Without the influence of a structured academic background, her art remains uninhibited and personal. This approach aligns with her philosophy of capturing the creativity and unfiltered expression found in childhood, a time when one is not bound by rules and techniques are often discovered through playful experimentation.

 

 

Ayako Rokkaku's preference for large canvases is a significant aspect of her artistic expression. She deliberately chooses these vast surfaces as they allow her to physically engage with her work in a very dynamic way. The size of the canvas offers her the space to move around freely, to use broad gestures and to channel her energy directly onto the canvas. This scale of work creates a visual contrast with her own physical presence, emphasizing the immersive nature of her process. Working on such a grand scale also has a performative element; it allows the audience to witness the creation process, turning the act of painting into a live art performance.

 

 

 

Painting through Intuition, Rokkaku is inspired by Abstract and Expressionist artists like Jackson Pollock, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Cy Twombly. She resonates with their expressive style and the way they convey emotions through abstract forms. Pioneering the Abstract Expressionist movement, Jackson Pollock conveys emotions and ideas through non-representational forms, as seen in Number 16 (1950) where the artist covers the canvas with unrecognized acrylic subjects in assorted colours. Pollock recognized that the major force in creating art is having an unconscious mind, where the process leads by spontaneity and improvisations – a process Rokkaku whole heartedly agrees with. Highly intuitive, Rokkaku refrains from being confined by rules of conventional painting, immersing herself fully during her painting process without an underlying plan. This allows her motifs to develop during the process, the act of painting becomes performative.

 

“I don’t feel I’m really painting unless my hands are in direct contact with the paint. It’s more fun that way.”
— Ayako Rokkaku

 

 

Wearing a pink dress that compliments the flora and fauna surrounding her, the current protagonist draws parallel to the leading character Chihiro Ogino in the Japanese animation movie Spirited Away (2001), in the scene where she was also passing through fields of blooming flowers. Both characters are seen in contexts where they are interacting with their surroundings in a way that suggests a connection to a larger, perhaps magical, environment. This thematic likeness creates a bridge between Rokkaku's art and the beloved animated character, evoking similar feelings of nostalgia, wonder, and the poignant journey of growing up.

 

 

 

Chihiro Ogino running through a field of flowers in Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away, 2001 

 

 

Rokkaku utilises an aesthetic that directly references the Japanese anime style, which also features adorable characters with enormous, shining eyes. Her work blends divergent styles from varying corners of the art world, while remaining childlike, youthful, and innocent – a headspace in which the artist tries to return to: ‘When I’m painting, I try to get in touch with the way I felt as a child – to get back to my starting point, if you like. Everyone goes through a stage of being totally into drawing and painting when they are small. Children can get completely absorbed in their pictures. I think maybe my pictures help to remind people of how they felt back then.” ^I Rokkaku seeks to reconnect with her own childhood sensations through her art, believing that her work might evoke similar memories and feelings in others.

 

 

Collector’s Digest

 

• Born 1982 in Chiba, Japan, Ayako Rokkaku began her artistic career in 2002, during her early twenties. Rokkaku quickly established herself on the international art scene after exhibiting at the 9th edition of the Geisai art fair in 2006 and was awarded the prestigious Akio Goto Prize, founded by Kaikai KiKi Studio which is led by art world giant, Takashi Murakami.

• In 2018, Phillips Hong Kong was the first to bring Rokkaku to the eyes of the market with a selling exhibition, Sam Francis, Walasse Ting & Ayako Rokkaku: Perpetual Colours, selling out before the first day of the opening. Since then, demand for the artist has exploded internationally. Rokkaku’s works are included in the permanent collections of the Powerlong Art Museum, China; Sehwa Museum of Art, South Korea;  the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanazawa, Japan; and the Voorlinden Museum, Netherlands, amongst others. 

• Rokkaku’s recent exhibitions include solo presentation, Born in the Fluffy Journey with Konig Galerie, Berlin (2021) and her institutional show with the Chiba Prefectural Museum of Art, Magic Hand (2021). Rokkaku currently lives and works in multiple cities, travelling between Porto, Berlin, Tokyo, and Amsterdam. She is represented by Gallery Delaive, Amsterdam. 

 

 ⁱ Somese Naoto, ‘Rokkaku Ayako: An Artist with the World at Her Fingertips’, nippon.com, 3, October 2011, online