Express 1988

Hiro Yamagata painted this scene, ‘Express,’ with an approach to mark making that seems almost pointillist but with a twist, like a swarm of bees has descended on the canvas leaving trails of colour in their wake. Look closely and you'll notice the physical texture of the paint; the brushwork is visible, a kind of topographical map of the artist's movements. The colour palette has an earthy undertone, punctuated with bright pops of red and yellow. My eye keeps getting drawn to that crowd, the way they’re just sort of dashed in as a mass, a visual shorthand for ‘people.’ It’s as if Yamagata is less interested in individual details and more in the overall impression of movement, of activity. This idea of fleeting impressions, the buzz of city life, reminds me a little of the Futurist painters like Boccioni, but with a folksier, less aggressive vibe. Art, you know, it’s all just one big conversation through time, isn't it?