A New Discovery

There is such joy in discovering a new artist. I stumbled across Kentaro Kobayashi today at a small but fascinating exhibition in Tenjin. Kobayashi is best known as a performance artist, but this exhibit focused on his overall practice, which includes an incredible visual arts component. I am always interested to come across artists (particularly contemporary ones) who have a multi-disciplinary practice. We have this odd belief as a society that you should focus on one thing, specialise in a certain area and become recognised as master of it. This frustrates me no end and I am tired of answering the question ‘what is your primary area of practice?’

My practice has been influenced by everything I know, love and experience. It is influenced by visual art, film, literature, dance, music, cooking, everyday life. These elements are all so important in my work, and I could not create without every one of them. They feed off each other, assist me when I am stuck, provide different angles of insight, understanding and expression.

Kobayashi’s most well known face is the one which performs physical comedy, but this exhibition showed beautiful, intricate, incredibly skilled drawings. He is prolific, creating constantly with many many drawings, paintings and mini installations varying in medium, style and size.