The haunting quality of Dante Horoiwa’s artwork grabbed me in March of 2010 at Anno Domini Gallery in San Jose, CA.
It was an exhibition of his body of work entitled Indoctrination, that explored the internal conflicts between his Japanese heritage, and being born and raised in Sao Paolo, Brazil. One chronicler commented that “Horoiwa tries to follow the samurai philosophy and the pursuit of enlightenment” and the challenges that the modern world presents to that choice influences his work.
In his painting Bechira – the chosen one – Horoiwa placed her in a field of lyrics from Simon and Garfunkle’s “Sound of Silence”. In conversation with the darkness, that these lyrics provide, the bioluminescent structure on Bechira‘s head offers the internal illumination that ultimately guides us all out of our darkest times.
At the opening, I stood in front of this painting in tears… its quite affirmation of the profound nature of the human spirit touched me. This was not a comfortable situation for me, especially with a couple of hundred people milling about. But it found its way into my heart and is now part of my collection.
"Bechira" Photograph © Dante Horoiwa
The reason I’ve written this post is… that in 2009 Horoiwa and 8 other artists were part of the R.U.A. – Reflexo on Urban Art Festival, which took place in Rotterdam, NL. It offered these burgioning artists an opportunity to take their art to new heights – literally! Each was given the side of a building as their canvas! A video of this festival and these artists was finally finished and uploaded this past May… I want to share Horoiwa and his work with you.
I hope that you enjoy the show…
http://vimeo.com/23481028
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