Printemps

ODRADEK presents “Spring” by Satoru Toma and Tamir Samandbadraa Purev

Attracted by the energy of spring, Satoru and Tamir agreed to start a dialogue between their artistic practices and share the fruits of this encounter with us.

Satoru Toma, a Japanese calligrapher, lives in Brussels since 2005, where he teaches his art, aware of the importance of breath and gesture punctuating the culture of his native country.

Tamir Samandbadraa Purev divides his activities between Mongolia and Europe, bringing interculturality into practice by means of presentations on his culture and exhibitions.

The two artists met last year at Tamir’s residency at ODRADEK. Since then, the idea of carrying on with the dialogue has found its way through their common aspiration: the association of writing with drawing and painting. This association, made possible by the use of ink, allows the wrist via the brush to express the interiority of the artist.

Satoru and Tamir invite us to perceive the calligraphic gesture as an act of communion between the wrist that traces, the gaze that adjusts and the spirit that is set free by the energy (qi) that animates it. This type of writing helps to reveal sensitive intuitions that are manifested through the visual-gestural art associated with poetry. We must also take into account the tonalities of ink and its affiliation with music, because like music, calligraphy as an art of allusion merely evokes, it does not allow itself to be distracted by the deciphering of the characters, by the readable content.

Eager to reinvigorate our vital energy, the two artists will make us vibrate to the rhythm of a new, emerging season.

Tamir considers spring as a great trial of life for the Mongolian nomad. This most difficult period of the year brings out people’s inner strength and makes their desires emerge like a volcano. The vivacity of spring spreads in the steppe and alters the human spirit. Desire, like fire, penetrates their eyes. It’s not just energy of survival, it’s something more, like a dream.

And to conclude, Satoru presents a haiku:

Vibrate!

Breath of energy

Unfolds the blossom

Colored vitality

Simone Schuiten