TAKEFUMI HORI

Takefumi Hori was born in 1978 in Tokyo, Japan. Takefumi studied Japanese calligraphy before moving to New York in 2004. Once in New York, he started painting abstract paintings with acrylic on canvas. Since 2009, Takefumi has been creating abstract paintings using gold leaf and paint made with gold. He currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.

The main inspiration of Takefumi’s paintings is the energy and ambitious nature of the people of New York City. This resonates with his own ambition as an artist. To express that energy and desire, Takefumi adopted gold as the material for his paintings. While exploring The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Takefumi was inspired by the gold ornamentation found in decorative art from the 18th and 19th centuries, along with high-end fashion accessories. As objects of desire, they represent one’s sophistication, success, and status in society.

“My techniques of painting are broadened and encouraged by these sophisticated designs. Layering gold and paint, scratching and scraping the surface, and mixing various kinds of gold creates visual depth in my paintings and reflects light in different ways depending on the angle of view.

Through my experiments with painting, I have found that compositional elements such as circles, squares, and rectangles are ideal forms for gold to work with other colors. My compositions of these elements are based on my experience with Japanese calligraphy: I place the center of visual weight to the lower left and create movement to the upper right of a canvas. This is to represent my intention of merging Eastern art traditions with Western art.”

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