Interview/Written by : Johannes Pong
Translation : Jin Tao
Photography : Nick D for precursorprints.com
Special Thanks : Ms. Junko Shimada

Takeo Hanazawa paints and sculpts. East and West, past and present, classical and contemporary all amalgamate into a gloriously neat hybrid in his works. 13th century European pottery, 18th century Japanese composition, characters from traditional Asian mythology (kappa river-sprites; Chinese taoist immortal sennin) as well as modern legends (Chewbacca; Kermit the Frog; Funkadelic pop icons) co-exists cleverly in his pieces. For him, these pose not as opposites in duality, but rather as concepts with underlying similarities. It’s an assessment of his own cultural cache as well as a whimsical homage to what history has wrought. This respectful irreverence to both traditional and contemporary artistry has prompted commissions from musicians like Lily Allen for their own private pleasure, and also collaborations with fashion houses like Alexander McQueen’s latest Tokyo flagship in Aoyama.

Johannes Pong sits down with the artist at Art Basel Hong Kong and has a chat with him in Japanese.

<< Continued after the Chinese below >>

花泽武夫绘画与雕塑作品，将东方与西方，过去与现在，传统与现代这些两极化的东西混合成为了协调的一体。 他的作品包罗万象，13世纪的欧洲瓷艺，18世纪的日本构图，传统的亚洲神话人物（日本河童;中国道教神仙）到现代传奇（巴卡，青蛙柯密特; 疯克德里克流行音乐形象）无不在他的作品中巧妙地找到了共生的办法。对他而言，这些看似二元对立的事物事实上都具有潜在的相似性概念。这不仅是他对自己的文化修养的评估，更是他对于历史异想天开式的致敬。这种无关传统或现代艺术的敬意，使他赢得了来自像Lily Allen这样音乐家的个人委托项目，以及来自时装屋Alexander McQueen的最新东京青山旗舰店这样的合作项目。

今年五月初，Johannes Pong有幸与这位艺术家面对面坐在香港巴塞尔艺术展，用日语一叙事业与梦想。

Johannes：你第一个梦想的职业是什么？
花泽武夫：我曾经想成为一名厨师，因为我想每天都吃到好吃的食物。那时我还在小学，我的梦想就是吃好吃的，什么都想吃。

Johannes：我上周刚刚采访了一位日本厨师，有趣的是他说他儿时想成为艺术家。
花泽武夫：真的吗？哈哈（大笑）。

Johannes：其实厨师也是艺术家，他们每天都在进行艺术创作，可食用的艺术品。
花泽武夫：但是对我而言，我觉得我真得做不到日复一日地做同一道菜，那样我真的会很无聊。再加上厨艺训练过程也十分辛苦。如果我得到一颗米其林星，保持这颗星所承受的压力难以想象。所以很快我又有了另一个梦想。

Johannes：你的艺术生涯是什么时候开始的？
花泽武夫：整个大学时代我都是村上隆的助手（多摩美术大学，BFA）。所以我每天的行程都是他的工作室而不是教室。哦，其实我还学了踢拳。

Read More