Hot Wind - 1 熱風 – 1

Like gusts of hot wind, sharp lines and brushstrokes fly all over the canvas. This artist has produced a series of works all with the theme the wind, including "To the Sound of the Wind," "Hot Wind," and "The Voice of the Wind." His major goal does not lie in a realistic portrayal of wind; the wind here is employed as a formative concept that gives forcefulness to the brushstrokes and general movement to the picture. Layers of thick brushstrokes and rich shades of colors in gesso, acrylic, and mineral colors create a lucid sense of depth, and the spirited lines drawn in oil sticks add horizontal expansion to the work. In the 1970s, Hori, as a core member of the Bikyoto group, mainly worked in Conceptual performances, video art, and Minimalist prints, but at the beginning of the 1980s he started to pursue painting seriously. This work, with its repetitive patterns, stands somewhere between the style of the "Mono-ha" of the 1970s and the Expressionist trend of the late 1980s in Japan. It was shown in "The 41st Biennale di Venezia" in 1984.