Blue Period: Hiroyasu Tsuri

Before I painted this mural the museum staff guided me through all of the exhibitions. One of the exhibitions was a recreation of the 'World Expo of the Netherlands' - where they displayed a lot of ceramic works using the famous colour 'Delft Blue'. Whilst I was there I found out about the history of this style of ceramics. The story that I heard from the Museum staff was about the 17th-century Dutch East India Company, which brought porcelain, spices, and exotica to Europe, and was the first business entity to link the East and West. During this period they started to import Chinese porcelain, as the Chinese workmanship and attention to detail impressed many.

At that time, only the richest classes could afford the early imports. After some time when the Chinese supply was interrupted, the Dutch potters saw the opportunity to produce cheap alternatives. This World Expo Dutch Showcase displayed a mixture of chosen Dutch products. I found this cultural exchange and mix (either it was a mistake or by accident) fascinating. I painted a larger mural in Lille, France, with this similar style, and I received a message from my pottery friends in Japan who told me that Japan was once exporting a large amount of ceramics using the 'Gosu Blue' colour to Europe while China was in the civil war.

Also, for me, this style was developed in parallel to the style I was painting in abandoned buildings while I was residing in Berlin Germany, from 2014 - 2021. On these missions, I carried black & white paint with me, and painted straight onto the aged wall surfaces. I used minimal materials and a minimal process that is a sort of similar process to Japanese / Asian ink paintings, where each stroke is visible in the final paintings. 

All of these cultural exchanges, and history knowledge triggered me to paint more in this style. My ‘Blue Period’ exhibition showcases a new collection of work in this style using a number of materials, with a mixture of the cultural and historical layers.

– Hiroyasu Tsuri (TWOONE)