Japan’s everyday beauty comes alive in new exhibition

Beauty can be found in the most unexpected places. On a weekday at a tiny coffee shop, at a local street market, in the way the leaves move in the wind. Noticing and capturing everyday scenes is an art in itself and an exhibition in Nicosia explores moments in Japan captured through artist Milenko Stevanović’s six-year stay there. Presenting a collection of paintings, drawings, and fine art prints, Nichijō will be the Serbian artist’s first solo exhibition in Cyprus and it tells a visual story of beauty found in even the most common places.

“Nichijō means common or everyday,” explains Milenko, who is fluent in Japanese. “I was always attracted to the motifs of everyday life, depicting people in their daily activities. The scenes show the city in the way I was getting to know it, through a series of landscapes, figurative paintings and portraits of people I met. The ordinary is often overlooked – beauty can be found in unexpected places. There is no need to emphasise and direct a scene too much, just to observe what is already there a bit better.”

His exhibition features a series of works that depict just that – daily scenes, moments and interactions from Japan. On at IN TOTO gallery until early December, Milenko’s exhibition will include figurative paintings, landscapes, drawings and fine art prints.

Originally from Serbia, Milenko is now based in Cyprus and this exhibition acts perhaps as his official introduction to the local art world here. “I’m new to the local art scene and it is exciting to be able to present my Japanese series here. I hope to meet people with an interest in art and culture. It is healthy to have a conversation from different points of view, to get a new perspective. I will be happy if a part of my experience of Japan speaks to someone visiting the exhibition”.

His six years in Japan began when he was the recipient of a Japanese Government Scholarship, known as MEXT, attending the Tokyo University of the Arts. There he studied the language and the culture but mostly specialised art practices within the Department of Oil Painting.

A striking country with distinct traditions, customs and landscapes, leaves an impression on anyone, perhaps even more so on an artist trained at observing the details. For Milenko life and art in Japan acted as a daily source of inspiration.

“When I think of Japan,” he says, “I think of a hot, damp summer day and the lush, deep browns and greens found in old izakayas and foliage. Or perhaps dry, sunny winter days, with spotless blue skies being cut into by the white, geometrical shapes of rooftops and terraces. Having lived there, I was lucky to experience all these scenes first hand.

“Japan was where I first started to seriously explore water-based media,” he adds, “such as ink painting and watercolour. Being surrounded by museums and galleries that exhibited nihon-ga and sumi-e paintings, a richness of choice in hand-made paper suited for painting, it was a shame not to. I believe this practice, in turn, influenced my oil painting style to an extent. I find myself thinking of broad areas of colour as passages of wash at times, a so-called bokashi gradation, let’s say. Perhaps, now that some time has already passed since I left Tokyo, I can articulate these ideas better and implement them more consciously.”

His Nichijō exhibition depicts these scenes, offering a glimpse into Japan’s everyday life. The busy markets, the temples with their lush green gardens, the bars and eateries where you can hear the chefs dicing the food…

For a more in-depth look at Milenko’s art practice and experience in Japan, three guided tours of the exhibition for just 10 people each are planned for November 12, 19 and 26. Starting at 7pm the tours will cover how the artist came up with the images in more detail, stories of customs they are based on and other information on technique and the making process.

“Tokyo is an enormous city,” he says, “with many areas where traditional meets modern, tiny coffee shops, bars and temples nestled together between apartment buildings. You’re never too far from a lucky discovery, a motif waiting to be painted. Learning the language and meeting some of the locals during my sketching sessions helped me a great deal to penetrate deeper into the life of the city and uncover some of the hidden gems around.” And that’s what Nichijō is about.

Nichijō

Solo exhibition by artist Milenko Stevanović featuring works from his six-year stay in Japan. November 5-December 4. IN-TOTO, Nicosia. Guided tours on November 12, 19 and 26. Opening night: 7pm. Monday-Friday: 4pm-8pm. Saturday: 10am-1pm and 4pm-8pm. Tour reservations at [email protected]