Qube Gallery’s artist Kenichi Wani is currently experimenting on an older style of painting that commenced when he first painted Odi. Kenichi is naturally curious to see through the years how he can improve the style he is much adept with and is using at the present. With natural inclinations to trace and know more about his Japanese roots, wave is a prominent supplement to his most recent flamboyant works. In retrospect, that significant wave in his older work prompted Kenichi to step back and with a tenacity to improve on his craftsmanship, has dubbed this exhibit as the Reemergence of the Great Wave. Autobiographical and fantastical, the colorful works of Kenichi never fail to visually indulge onlookers’ eyes with stories and colors, or better yet, colorful stories rendered in both small and big surreal works.
In a gist, Odi and Vivi are stranded at sea and they face all sorts of trouble. The clincher? They got away with it. Such resilience. Who would not identify himself or herself with Odi and Vivi? Who would not love to share the same plot or design? This, perhaps, is the very reason why a closer scrutiny of the colors, composition and character of the canvases of Kenichi ultimately resolves any art spectator to be enthralled, subsequently captivating the heart to endow and keep Odi and Vivi in their homes or custody.
Influenced and inspired by the colors of Van Gogh, the iconography of Hokusai, and the character and style of Takashi Murakami, Kenichi Wani successfully innovated the identities of Odi and Vivi. Juan Luna and many Renaissance painters enthused Kenichi on composition, the bent of which are traced in his works.
Kenichi Wani was born in Cebu in 1985 and graduated in U.P. Cebu Fine Arts. His whimsical and very playful style inexorably invokes his interesting Filipino-Japanese contextual story. He has one work entitled “The Story of Moises” which is very significant because it relays so much about his birth and the story of how he almost died after birth. The rest is history, Kenichi lives and thrives in both local and international art scene, having participated in various art fairs and exhibitions like Tubo Cebu Art Fair, NCCA’s Cebu Tagay Stories in Manila and Art Kaoshiung in Taiwan.
On a more personal note, Kenichi loves to paint (that’s undeniable) and he believes that art is for everyone. One of his biggest dreams and goals is to inspire others, changing their perception towards art as elitist and should belong to the both the affluent and the modest ones. He wants Cebu to stand up and become a major powerhouse in the Philippine Art arena and even to the whole wide world. He quips, “I am currently getting myself more involved in making this a reality”.
Once again, say hello and get to know more about Odi and his friends in Reemergence of the Great Wave at the Foyer Space of Qube Gallery, Crossroads Banilad, Cebu City. Join the Artist Reception on September 22, 4:00 to 9:00 PM. Exhibit runs from September 6 – 30, 2018.