Cosmos

This series began when Hajime Van came across Arches, a French handmade watercolor paper, by chance at an art supply store. Using mineral pigments, clay-based pigments, and colored inks, he developed richly layered compositions on the surface of the paper. The way the pigments settle, blur, and spread across the paper is remarkable. Both planes and lines seem to grip the surface, retaining their vivid colors with striking clarity even today.

The night skies Van witnessed during his stays in Narvik in the Arctic, Yurigahama on Yoron Island, and Santa Monica Beach in California left a lasting impression on his mind. The stars and swirling constellations he saw night after night became deeply imprinted in his memory.

Arches paper responded fully to Van’s desire to give form to these images. The vast night sky rising from the horizon on the beach, and the universe beyond it, continue to shine vividly in the artist’s imagination.