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Toru Kamei’s Mythological Paintings and Haunted Still Lifes

Japanese artist Toru Kamei creates sensual, dreamlike paintings that reference nature and mythology. While some of his pieces delve into the enchanted worlds of serpentine gods and mermen, other works offer a surrealist take on vanitas painting. Like the Northern Renaissance still lifes, Kamei's work meditates on the fragility of life and the imminence of mortality. But his work takes on a bizarre dimension when one notices the eyeballs popping out of the flowers he paints, making them look haunted and eerily alive.

Japanese artist Toru Kamei creates sensual, dreamlike paintings that reference nature and mythology. While some of his pieces delve into the enchanted worlds of serpentine gods and mermen, other works offer a surrealist take on vanitas painting. Like the Northern Renaissance still lifes, Kamei’s work meditates on the fragility of life and the imminence of mortality. But his work takes on a bizarre dimension when one notices the eyeballs popping out of the flowers he paints, making them look haunted and eerily alive.

Topics

painting, still life, Toru Kamei

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101/exhibit, How Human of You, Kent Williams, painting

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Toru Kamei’s Mythological Paintings and Haunted Still Lifes

Mr. Everybody’s Stark Paintings Offer Pops of Vibrancy

Uncanny Valley: The Oil Paintings of the Late Eyvind Earle Still Have A Resounding Influence on Artists & Viewers Today

Surreal Paintings of Ben Sanders Featured in ‘I Come to the Garden Alone’

Preview: Kent Williams’s “How Human of You” at 101/Exhibit

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