Dan Fern – Landscapes and Traditional Japanese Culture

44N5E:les choses mêmes (2)

Fern views natural creations such as stones as an “artifact” in their own right. This is due to the length of time it takes for one to be created. He is fascinated with the history that may have passed as these stones are formed. Fern is inspired by traditional Japanese culture and finds the spacing, colour and texture combinations used within their building “Imperial Villa” at Katsura an architecture ideal. Therefore elements from each of these come out through his own work. He has taken many photographs of the surrounding area to use as reference within his projects.

Saint Justin 1 2008-09

This map paper coloured using acrylic paint resembles a mountain landscape at sunset. This may be inspired by the surrounding landscapes around his studio in Vercors region of south-east France.

The piece shown to the bottom-right can be compared against the grid like structure of the Imperial villa walls. The use of texture creates an interesting display while the blocks of colour keeps your gaze and direct your eyes. I find the juxtaposition of the elements directs my eyes towards the upper left hand corner of the piece, this may be due to the dark contrasting red and grey blocks being placed within a near distance    

KATSURA 2013