Base Gallery, Tokoyo
Before making the first stroke of a painting, an artist must surely agonize over the decision to defile something as clean and pure as a blank canvas. If this process is troublesome for painters working with traditional, coarse cloth, then one Japanese artist seems to compound his distress by choosing to paint on the less-conventional surface of sleek, virgin metal.
Case in point: Toshimitsu Baba, who recently completed his postgraduate studies at Tama Art University. Until Aug. 7, Base Gallery, located in Tokyo's Chuo Ward, is exhibiting eight of Baba's paintings, six of which are oil on aluminum.