Whitestone Gallery Singapore is proud to present Story Keepers: Tales and Traditions, an exhibition that explores the enduring influence of storytelling in Japan. Through contemporary art, themes of transformation, spirituality, and identity are explored, offering new interpretations of ancient narratives.

We are thrilled to feature the works of Kazuyuki Futagawa, an artist renowned for using natural mineral pigments to create landscapes. In this interview, we delve into his consistent approach to capturing nature’s beauty, exploring how his traditional materials and techniques reflect a deep connection to the environment. Futagawa’s works offer a timeless meditation on the relationship between nature, identity, and artistic expression.

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-  Crystalised natural pigments are not common materials to use in art even today, how and why have you kept this a consistent material in all of your works?

Futagawa: I grew up in a nature-rich town surrounded by the sea, mountains and rivers. Maybe it was inevitable that I was using nature, drawing nature, and returning to nature. Since I was six years old, I had already vaguely wanted to become a painter. At the University of Fine Arts, there were two options: Oil Painting or Japanese Painting. I majored in Japanese Painting without hesitation and I felt the nature of my birthplace pushing me on the back. After 1,300 years of history, Japanese Painting, which had created various styles, was an unknown world for me who only knew of watercolor. I was   overwhelmed by the beauty of style supported by tradition and the presence that had survived the selection of history.

Traditional Japanese paintings mainly used paint made from dyeing mud called "water-dried paint" with vegetable dyes, but by the time I started studying Japanese painting, most of them were painted using "rock paint." These "rock paints" are refined by crushing natural rocks, so the size of the grains varies. Rock paints with large grains are not stable even on the screen if it is difficult to dissolve the color. It could not be used in painting at all. About 70 years ago, after trial and error, it became easier to handle rough particle rock paints. The rough rock paint improved to the size of granulated sugar and had a unique texture that was not found in other paints. The deep, dull light fascinated me. As the ore that forms the source of the mineral pigments exists in mountainous areas and rugged terrain, mining was done on foot. From a 2,700-meter-high highland in Afghanistan, the rock-green blue from Zambia, Africa, the ores of these pigments are repeatedly crushed and extracted, manually sorted, and only those with good color development and impurities removed reach me as paint.

It exists only in harsh natural environments, and my drawing of nature with natural mineral rock paints produced by many people can be said to be an activity of returning what is placed naturally to nature. I can't help but feel that Japanese painting, which is all naturally derived from Japanese paper, brush and glue, shows the symbiosis between us humans and nature. It is a hard-to-handle medium, but its heavy texture, the depth of the color that does not fit in a single color, and the expression that changes with light are hard to replace. I struggle every day to make many people aware of its charm.

Kazuyuki Futagawa “Drooping cherry blossoms” 2014, 24.2 x 33.3 cm Mineral Pigments on Japanese Paper

- Your love for nihonga is evident through your landscape works, what is it about nihonga that keeps drawing your attention to it?

Futagawa: I continue to paint landscapes because I believe that nature is not just beautiful, but deeply rooted in our hearts. Since ancient times, Japanese have lived with nature, prayed for nature, and been healed by nature.

I feel hope in the spring buds, listening to life's movements in the summer cicada rain, thinking about moving to autumn leaves, and realizing the impermanence of the calmness of winter. Nature was not just a landscape, but a mirror reflecting our spirit. Japanese painting has thoroughly incorporated such a Japanese view of nature. The roughness of the rock paints gives you the warmth of soil and rocks, and the soft oozing of Japanese paper gives off the fleetingness of fog and wind. Each grain of paint contains light and quietly talks about the sparkles of morning dew and the afterglow of dusk.

I hope that the traditional Japanese painting technique (nihonga) will capture the natural form, air and essence of living in this country. But now that nature is being lost without sound; Rich Satosan Mountain has been shaved by development, the clear stream is muddy, and the sea is covered with plastic. They seem to have left their cherished gaze on nature somewhere in exchange for convenience.

Which makes me feel a quiet sadness.

That's why I want to keep sticking to Japanese paintings. It is not just to preserve past traditions, but to inherit the preciousness of nature. Drawing with natural materials such as rock paints and Japanese paper is also a prayer for a time when people and nature were together. I hope that the greenery of the forest and the sparkle of the river reflected in the painting will gently awaken someone's eyes and affection for nature.

My paintings are not a farewell to the landscape that may eventually be lost, but a wish for a future that lives with nature. I will continue to write so that this earth will continue to honor its rich beauty for as long as possible.

Noriyuki Futagawa “Oirase Kosai” 2017, 41.0 x 53.0 cm, Mineral Pigments on Japanese Paper

- On a lighter note, do you have any fun facts you have discovered about using natural / mineral pigments to share with our audience? And words to encourage audiences to learn more about historically significant mediums in general?

Futagawa: I have made a number of new discoveries while continuing to use rock paints in Japanese painting. Even if it looks the same at first glance, rough group blue particles create strength in the sky and haze-like silence in detail. In addition, rock paints have different facial expressions depending on the viewing angle and light. It is soft and soft under the morning sun, and sometimes it shows a deep sinking color at dusk. I am fascinated by the "shaking" and "depth" of these pigments.

After a while leaving the brush, a slight ooze appears that could not be predicted when drawing. Furthermore, the depth of color that increases every moment over time is like gradation when the sun sets. It is the very accidental beauty that nature creates, completely out of control by human hands. I feel that this sort of "accident" is unique to Japanese paintings, which cannot be experienced by Western paintings.

Kazuyuki Futagawa “Waterfall Waves” 2011, 31.8 x 41.0 cm Mineral Pigments on Japanese Paper

I also want to convey the historical value of Japanese paintings and natural pigments to viewers, and Japanese paintings as art created by natural dialogue between people. I hope that those who appreciate my paintings will not be able to think about the color as a color, but also about the history and natural memories of natural pigments.

For example, Gunseo was once called "Aogane" and was as valuable as gold. Gun-blue was also used in folding screen paintings in the Azuchi-Momoyama period and ukiyoe paintings in the Edo period, and its vividness still persists. It is due to the strength and permanence of natural ore. The ore is shaved, crushed, powdered, and mixed with glue to stay on the screen. In this process, the long-standing activities that people have naturally woven into are breathing.

I would be very happy if you could feel when you look at the work, "Maybe this blue is the color that came from a stone that slept in the ground a long time ago." The natural pigments I use today were created the same way they were hundreds of years ago. Each pigment scattered in the painting is a color that has been passed down for a long time. The Japanese paper and glue I draw are also materials woven naturally by human techniques. Japanese paper made of vegetable fiber and wearing a soft light; glue is made from animal skins and bones and used while changing the concentration according to the climate.

These are all the crystals of history in which people and nature have lived together. Japanese painting is not just a visual beauty, but an art that resonates with the memory of nature and the work of human hands. From now on, I will continue to paint my thoughts on its history and nature along with these pigments. 

Whitestone Gallery Singapore

Following this interview, Futagawa’s dedication to traditional Japanese painting and his use of natural mineral pigments offer a profound connection to nature and history. Story Keepers: Tales and Traditions provides an opportunity to witness his stunning landscapes, which reflect a deep respect for the environment and a rich cultural legacy. Don’t miss the chance to explore Futagawa’s work and the timeless beauty of natural materials at Whitestone Gallery Singapore.

Story Keepers: Tales and Traditions