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9. The Pleasure of Picasso

As the COVID-19 pandemic swept the world in the spring of 2020, Tanaami’s plans were all canceled and he found himself in an unprecedented state of inactivity. One day, he stumbled upon one of his own paintings (cat. 9-1) tucked away in a corner of his studio. The composition of this painting, made in 1993 for an exhibition on the theme of Osamu Tezuka’s Astro Boy, was based on a Picasso painting (1943, collection of Yale University Art Gallery) of a toddler taking faltering steps with the support of a mother. This chance discovery inspired Tanaami to begin making copies after Picasso’s works. With no specific objective or deadlines to meet, he found unexpected joy and pleasure in the simple act of replicating shapes and colors, and rapidly became deeply absorbed in the process. Like a Buddhist monk transcribing sacred texts, Tanaami carried out countless repetitions, enabling him to vicariously experience Picasso’s process and gain a profound understanding of the artist’s unique brushwork and use of color. Tanaami freely integrated these techniques with his own subject matter and color sense. This endeavor gave rise to the Pleasure of Picasso – Mother and Child series (cat. 9-2), which is still ongoing and now contains over 700 works of various sizes.

Over the course of his long life, the supremely prolific Picasso freely absorbed images from diverse works of different eras and cultures and transformed them into new and original art, a remarkable ability that resonates with Tanaami’s own approach. Collaboration can only take place through a fusion of equally powerful forces. Through the brush of Tanaami, with his extraordinary grasp of Picasso’s art, the formidable creativity of two unique talents bridges time and space as their works conflict and harmonize, captivating viewers with an almost ecstatic allure.