| Takao Tanabe’s paintings, with their subtle musings, are now on view at The Banff Centre’s Walter Phillips Gallery and in the foyer of the Jeanne and Peter Lougheed building in an exhibition titled Takao Tanabe: Light, Sky and Land.
Formerly the head of visual arts at The Banff Centre, Tanabe now resides near Parksville, B.C. where he carries on creating landscapes that have been described as everything from minimalist to dark and foreboding.
In the Banff exhibition we see Tanabe presenting prairie-inspired pieces and a few more recent paintings that depict the sea.
Yellow Field, an artist’s proof, produced in 1980, is solid evidence that while Tanabe worked at The Banff Centre – from 1973 to 1980 – he did not lose his focus on creating paintings that are both visually appealing and oozing with spirituality.
These are not the grand views of the Rockies so often captured by artists who inhabit Banff but rather powerful interpretations of a blustery prairie that this West Coast-born artist obviously fell in love with.
The more recent works, located in the Jeanne and Peter Lougheed Building, are more representational depictions of the sea but no less full of the skill and vision Tanabe continues to possess.
Like visual mantras, the observances that Tanabe makes of the places that lie before him are inspiring and welcome. Removing the visual clutter that normally fills our daily lives, he creates sparse works that contain just the essential elements. Only a small sampling from The Banff Centre’s permanent collection of Tanabe works, each is like Haiku by brush. Prairie Hills with Cloud, also created in 1980, is a darker piece but what shines through is Tanabe’s respect for the land and the process he uses to create something that is as enduring as a prairie wind.
Now 80 years old, Tanabe had gone virtually unnoticed by the Canadian art establishment until being awarded a Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts in 2003. In 2006, he was awarded one of The Banff Centre’s prestigious Fleck Fellowships.
Fellowships and awards aside, this talented artist, who is at ease painting the land or sea, continues to prove with each landscape (and seascape) that true talent does not require self-promotion, but is recognized for the true gift that it is.
Takao Tanabe: Light, Sky and Land continues at The Banff Centre until November 2. |
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