Who is your favorite painter?
If I’m asked, the one that comes to mind is absolutely Henri Matisse.

So I visited the Henri Matisse exhibition at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum.
The Window series, sculptures, Dream, and the Jazz cut-outs... I was thrilled to see his works.

At the same time, the gentle energy that overflows from his paintings is pleasant to appreciate.
When I look at his works, I wonder if I am the only one who feels like saying "Oh my Senior Matisse!”

Throughout his entire works, I feel his joy and pain of creation and see the blueprint of his style as well. It was as if Matisse was telling me, "Hey, this is how you find your own way.”
His way of communicating is quite gentle like he’s whispering in my ear.

Matisse embraced his illness, the war, and everything else that happened in his life, and incorporated them into his paintings. Looking at his paintings from the beginning to the end, we can see his ever-changing self-expression throughout his life.

Matisse wandered in many directions and found his style in his 70s. His late works look effortless, but they all have deliberately calculated compositions that can only come from his experiences. Above all, his way of using colors is outstandingly cool.

It all comes from Matisse's uniqueness and tenderness. In the end, that makes his works completely perfect.

Due to the exhibition, I wonder if I could find my style if I take each step of my life like this. I have much to learn from the great Matisse, not only as a wonderful painter but as a bold artist who had significant life experience.