Kazuya Sakai at the MACBA...

6:44 p.m.

Buenos Aires still offers cultural activites to forget the chilly weather… And museums invite us to travel to far away lands...

Argentine born, although raised by a traditional Japanese family, this week's artist, Kazuya Sakai, was a painter of two worlds. His first works were inspired by the Japanese art of doing signs on paper. In the 60s, he started a darker palette, with textures and stains, as we can see on the following painting, belonging to the MNBA...

Painting, by Kasuya Sakai (1962)

Technique: mixed technique on canvas / Measures: 97 x 130 cm - MNBA

In the 70s, influenced by Pop art, he develops a more geometric style. These paintings are the ones currently in exhibition at the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Buenos Aires (MACBA). Rodrigo Alonso, the curator, chose the title "Kazuya Sakai, paintings from the spirit of music." The aim is to show the close relationship between the artist and certain musical expressions, such as Miles Davis' Jazz in the 70s and the Vanguard of the 20th Century.

Hommage to Korin - Serie N°11, by Kazuya Sakai

Technique: acrylic on canvas / Measures: 160 x 160 cm - MACBA

The curves of Sakai's paintings bring to life the figures of musical key notes in full color. Such strong images were born in Mexico, where the artist lived after spending some time in New York.

Miles Davis - Bitches Brew (II), by Kazuya Sakai (1973)

Technique: acrylic on raw canvas - Private Collection

You will be able to hear the music that inspired Kazuya thanks to the headphones placed on the corner of the hall. However, it would have been more effective to be able to listen to each particular music that influenced each painting. Maybe listen to it while visiting the exhibition… Just an idea.

Do genetics have a say in the making of an artist? Or can they at least influence the way we perceive art? If so, in the case of the Sakai family, it works. The grandnephew of Kazuya Sakai, actually living in Tokyo, is an amazing photographer: