Fumiya Odagawa: Dream and Reminiscence

Fumiya Odagawa received the Acrylic Award in Jackson’s Artwork Prize 2026 along with his work The Poppy Sways. On this interview, he discusses his nocturnal routine, the conversations between his painted figures, and the attractive color combos he finds in nature.

Above picture: Fumiya in his studio

Josephine: May you share the story of the way you turned an artist and inform us extra about your inventive background?

Fumiya: I’ve liked drawing ever since I used to be little. My earliest reminiscence is of a trainer at my nursery faculty who was good at drawing – I used to be all the time so completely happy at any time when she drew animals or dinosaurs for me. From then on, I used to be all the time drawing.

Josephine: What does a typical working day within the studio seem like for you? Do you will have any essential routines or rituals?

Fumiya: Nighttime is once I can focus probably the most, so drawing at night time might be referred to as a behavior of mine. I’ve tried to repair my way of life many occasions, however I’ve all the time failed.

Josephine: Which supplies or instruments might you not reside with out?

Fumiya: Portray is probably the most enjoyable for me, so paint and brushes are completely important.

Josephine: Do you’re employed from a reference? Inform us extra about your course of.

Fumiya: In my college days, I labored from sketches. I believed that fastidiously observing and understanding objects was essential to create an actual sense of presence in my work, so I made sketches outside and elsewhere, build up a retailer of reference materials.

For the previous three years or so, I’ve wished a bit extra play and looseness in my strains and shapes. So relatively than specializing in the amount of reference materials or getting issues ‘appropriate’, I now worth whether or not a form or circulate seems fascinating or just feels good.

Josephine: Do you usually draw or preserve a sketchbook? If that’s the case, how does this inform your work?

Fumiya: I really feel like earlier than, I used to be doing excess of I wanted to, with out a lot objective. Now I attempt to make sketches which can be extra like doodles with concepts in them – ones I can carry immediately into the portray itself.

Josephine: Have you ever ever had a interval of stagnation in creativity? If that’s the case, what helped you overcome it?

Fumiya: Typically I do wrestle to give you new concepts. Travelling and watching plenty of movies assist result in change in a stagnant state of affairs. Going to see exhibition is sweet too.

Josephine: Are there any particular artists or mentors who’ve impressed you?

Fumiya: The painters I’ve been influenced by are Edvard Munch and Pierre Bonnard. I’ve additionally been influenced by Japanese woodblock print artists.

Josephine: What have been you eager about or exploring on the time you made The Poppy Sways? What impressed it, and the way did it come to be?

Fumiya: I’ve lengthy been engaged on a collection of items centred on relationships and conversations between figures – works that make you surprise in regards to the connection between the individuals in them. That’s as a result of it’s straightforward to think about the story the characters recommend, which makes the portray simpler to create.

However with this piece, I wished a distinct construction – one the place the background and small objects catch the attention greater than the primary determine does. The particular person was merely a part of the portray’s general surroundings, a bit meant to make the shapes and circulate of color extra intriguing.

Josephine: What made you submit this piece to Jackson’s Artwork Prize?

Fumiya: One interesting factor was how simply I might participate in a London open name exhibition. I’ve been influenced an ideal deal by European artists, so I wished my very own work to have a presence in that area too.

Josephine: There’s a distortion of the determine in your work that creates a dizzying, dreamlike sense of area. May you discuss us via the way you obtain this impact, and what position it performs in your work?

Fumiya: First, that is perhaps a means of avoiding getting too near realism. One more reason is that I’ve all the time appreciated pictures which can be blurred or out of focus. I discover unsure shapes and colors extra fascinating and interesting than sharply rendered photos. That high quality suited the ambiance of my work, which really feel like a mixture of goals and reminiscence.

Josephine: What’s your relationship with color, and the way do you determine on the color palette for a portray?

Fumiya: Initially, I wasn’t excellent at selecting color. So relatively than deciding freely by myself, I gathered reference materials on which colors would come collectively nicely and look stunning. Recently, I’ve been utilizing the colors of butterflies and flowers as reference.

Josephine: Are there any new strategies or concepts you’re excited to discover utilizing the supplies out of your prize?

Fumiya: The Golden acrylic paints I might be receiving are fantastic – finely milled and remarkably vivid in color. Acrylic paint tends to lose quantity because it dries, however I wish to create works that carry out, to the fullest, the fantastic thing about color and texture these paints have when seen in particular person.

Josephine: How did it really feel to maneuver via the levels of the competitors and win the Acrylic Award?

Fumiya: I used to be delighted to have been chosen from what appears to have been a really massive variety of candidates.

Josephine: What’s arising subsequent for you?

Fumiya: I’ll be doing a residency in Spain on the finish of the 12 months. There may even be an exhibition on-site, so I’m actually wanting ahead to it. I’d be very happy if an increasing number of individuals might see my work going ahead.

Observe Fumiya on Instagram

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