抽象画 (Abstract Paintings)

　友人の S・Y さんが、新象作家協会という抽象美術の会の会員であるため、毎年、京都と大阪で開催される同会の巡回展の招待状を貰う。S・Y さんは、大連嶺前小学校の私の同期生の一人で、福島県相馬市に住む。例年、京都展の期間には彼女が京都へ来ているのだが、今年は 10 月に東京で嶺前小同窓会総会があって、彼女に会えることでもあり、大阪市立美術館での新象展をさる 22 日に見た。

　S・Y さんの作品は、いつも同心の円あるいは長円をいくつか配した抽象画で、一見してそれと分かる。これは、スタイルが確立して、一風をなしているということか。そして、作品の題名には、つねに郷里・大連に思いを込めて、"DAIREN" の文字がある。昨年は、"DAIREN–震–3.11" という題名で、色調もいつになく激しく、東北大震災の被災者たちの悲しみと原発事故に対する怒りが表されているものだった。

　今年の S・Y さんの絵の題名は "DAIREN–(FUKUSIMA) 2012" で、震災と原発事故の苦しみの滴りが残りながらも、希望もほの見える雰囲気が表されているように感じた（現実には、震災の復興と原発事故の全容解明・補償完遂からはほど遠い状況にあるといわなければならないが）。多くの作品が意気込んで作られているばかりに、心をはねのけるような表情を持っているのに反して、彼女の作品には心を引き込まれる思いをさせられた。これは、あながち作者を知っているせいではなくて、今回の作品の温和な色調や、その中心にある瞳のような黒い円などによるものであろうか。作品の写真は S・Y さんのブログ記事「新象展」（東京展）でご覧になれる（2枚目の写真では、作者が作品の横に立っている）。

A friend of mine, S.Y, is a member of an association of abstract arts, Shinshō Sakka Kyōkai. So, I get an invitation to the traveling exhibition of this association held in Kyoto and Osaka every year. She is one of my classmates in Dalian Reizen Elementary School and now lives in Soma, Fukushima Prefecture. During the exhibition in Kyoto, she always comes there. However, we shall be able to see each other in Tokyo next month on the occasion of the reunion of the elementary school. Therefore, I saw this year's Shinshō Exhibition at Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts on September 22.

S.Y's work is always an abstract painting in which some concentric circular or oval shapes are arranged, so that we can identify it as hers at a glance. This may mean that her style has been firmly established and has become one of representative styles in her association. The title of every work of hers includes the word "DAIREN" meaning Dalian, in order to express her nostalgic feeling to the hometown. Last year, her work was entitled "DAIREN–Quake–3.11", and a relatively strong color tone compared with her earlier works was used to depict sorrow of the victims of the Tōhoku earthquake and rage against nuclear accidents.

The title of S.Y's painting of this year was "DAIREN-(FUKUSIMA) 2012". I thought that it depicted the remains of suffering from the earthquake and the nuclear accidents by dripping of some colors but that an atmosphere of hope was visible (though, in reality, recovery from the earthquake including clarifying of all the aspects of and compensation for the nuclear accidents is quite far from complete). Many works of other painters who had made their works too ambitiously had something to repel my mind. On the other hand, S.Y's work made me feel that my mind was drawn toward it. This is not because of the fact that I know the painter but probably because of the mild color tone, the black circle like an pupil of an eye at the center, etc. of her work of this time. You can see photos of the work in her blog post about Shinshō Exhibition held in Tokyo (in the second photo, the painter stands at the side of her work).