Gallery Elena Shchukina - Autumn Bliss - Works by Kyosuke Tchinai and Katusha Ostroumoff Bull

by FrancesSpiegel

Autumn Bliss, on view at Gallery Elena Shchukina in 2013, featured works by Kyosuke Tchinai and Katusha Ostroumoff Bull.

This exhibition, at the newly opened Gallery Elena Shchukina in 2013, showed how rising artists Kyosuke Tchinai and Katusha Ostroumoff Bull combine elements of western culture with traditional Japanese themes.

They create otherworldly works of art often embellished with gold and titanium leaf. These delightful images seem to float between imaginary and real worlds.

Kyosuke Tchinai, Autour du Chrysanthème

© Kyosuke Tchinai and Gallery Elena Shchukina
Kyosuke Tchinai, Autour du Chrysanthème
Kyosuke Tchinai, Autour du Chrysanthème
© Kyosuke Tchinai and Gallery Elena Shchukina

Kyosuke Tchinai - About the Artist

Kyosuke Tchinai was born in Namikata Ohchi in 1948. After studying at Tokyo's National University of Fine Arts and Music he has been well received in numerous shows across Japan including the Nakata Museum in 2003 and the Ehime Fine Arts Museum in 2007. 

Tchinai, highly regarded by the Parisian art scene following several exhibitions at Galerie Taménaga, was looking forward to seeing how Londoners would receive his work.

Speaking in 2013, he said: “I still remember the excitement and anticipation that preceded my first exhibition in Paris. Tchinai Poésie Orientale was held in 2002, at Galerie Taménaga. Eleven years and four Paris exhibitions later, I can clearly see the many ways in which exhibiting in Europe has influenced my work.″ 

Tchinai's work is held by a number of public and private collections in Japan and the United States. He has also illustrated a children’s book entitled Les chants de ma naissance, written by world famous trumpet player, Toshinori Kondo, and published by Fukuinkan Shoten (Japan, 2007).

 

Kyosuke Tchinai, Érable,

© Kyosuke Tchinai and Gallery Elena Shchukina
Kyosuke Tchinai, Érable,  © Kyosuke Tchinai and Gallery Elena Shchukina
Kyosuke Tchinai, Érable, © Kyosuke T...

Japanese Traditional Style Combined with Elements of Global Cultures

 

Tchinai gives his work a ″world″ feel by combining elements of traditional Japanese styles and motifs with an exciting and eclectic mix of global cultures. Captivating kimono-clad figures, stunning butterflies and luxuriant flowers, created with the addition of gold and platinum leaf or coloured tissues, float between real and imaginary worlds. Minutely detailed paintings show every strand of fabric, every stamen in a blossom. This artist's surrealism is inspired by paintings of the Momoyama period – 1573–1615.   

Kyosuke Tchinai, Galaxie II,

© Kyosuke Tchinai and Gallery Elena Shchukina
Kyosuke Tchinai, Galaxie II, © Kyosuke Tchinai and Gallery Elena Shchukina
Kyosuke Tchinai, Galaxie II, © Kyosuke Tchinai and Gallery Elena Shchukina

Katusha Ostroumoff Bull

Katusha Ostroumoff Bull is certainly on the fast track having risen to prominence in just a few years since graduating from Heatherley School of Fine Art, Chelsea in 2002, with a Diploma in Figurative Sculpture. 

Katusha's work is internationally acclaimed and features in many public and private collections in the UK, United States, India, Hong Kong, Australia, Macau and Malta. She became an Associate of the Royal British Society of Sculptors in 2005, and a member of the Society of Designer Craftsmen in 2012. 

Katusha's art is the result of a life rich in varied experiences. Like a cat with nine lives, she has enjoyed almost as many different careers. After growing up in Hong Kong, she worked as a nurse in Australia, and has also been a ski patroller and instructor, a dressmaker, a cook, a real estate agent and a mother. Her sculptures are bold and colourful, but have a slightly elusive feel to them. As you observe a piece on a day-to-day basis, it seems to change with the light, with the seasons, and even depending on its surroundings.  

Katusha Ostroumoff Bull, ARBS, MSDC, Excelsior | Patagonian Blue Onyx

Image by Frances Spiegel with permission from Gallery Elena Shchukina
Excelsior | Patagonian Blue Onyx, Katusha Ostroumoff Bull
Excelsior | Patagonian Blue Onyx, Kat...

Gallery Elena Shchukina - A Perfect Match

Gallery Elena Shchukina, established in 2013, was the perfect setting for both Katusha and Tchinai's work. Elena rejects the concept of the 'white cube' format where works of art are displayed on nice clear walls or in empty spaces. This exhibition space is a fully immersive experience where paintings, sculpture, furniture, soft furnishings, objects, and even the lighting are designed to enhance each other.

To complement paintings and sculptures featured in Autumn Blossom, Elena chose furniture, decorative objects and lighting inspired by the unique blend of western ideas and Japanese traditions reflected in Tchinai's paintings. Speaking at the time, Elena said: 

"I am delighted to host Kyosuke Tchinai's first London show at Gallery Elena Shchukina. I've long been fascinated by his unique ability to subtly infuse his work with elements from his Japanese heritage. His use of materials, approach to his subject and esoteric nature of his work all combine to produce paintings of real force and importance". 

Kyosuke Tchinai, Fête du feu

© Kyosuke Tchinai and Gallery Elena Shchukina
Kyosuke Tchinai, Fête du feu, © Kyosuke Tchinai and Gallery Elena Shchukina
Kyosuke Tchinai, Fête du feu, © Kyosuke Tchinai and Gallery Elena Shchukina

Contemporary Japanese Art

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More About Gallery Elena Shchukina

Since opening in 2013 Gallery Elena Shchukina has established a reputation for fine exhibitions. To get an idea of what's currently showing take at look at their Instagram page - Gallery Elena Shchukina.

 

Getting to Gallery Elena Shchukina

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Updated: 07/08/2022, FrancesSpiegel
 
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FrancesSpiegel on 07/02/2015

Thank you so much for reading this article. This little gallery presents some beautiful and unusual works by up-and-coming artists.

Mira on 07/01/2015

Tchinai seems very interesting! I really like his work with the butterflies! I can certainly see why people would buy such artworks :)

FrancesSpiegel on 11/20/2013

Thanks for reading. I'm invited to Japanese afternoon tea at the gallery today. Looking forward to it.

AbbyFitz on 11/19/2013

These are beautiful. I've never heard of these before

Rose on 11/18/2013

Those paintings are absolutely exquisite!

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