Very good condition.
The artwork is signed and dated, and features a gallery label affixed to the left side of the back of the wooden panel.

TAKEDA Teppei (1978-), originally from Yamagata Prefecture, aspired to become an artist from an early age and went on to study in the Department of Visual Communication Design at Musashino Art University. After gaining experience as a designer, he transitioned to painting and returned to his hometown of Yamagata, where he spent a decade quietly and devotedly pursuing his artistic practice.

Takeda's artistic practice is based on the question: ‘Why are we possible to feel something from the finite flat surface of a painting?’

Takeda’s artistic practice centers on the pure experience of painting. He continuously explores this fundamental question through his work. His consistent process involves digitally editing sketches, then expanding them into full-scale paintings using traditional paint, blending digital and analogue methods.

This work, Painting of Painting 039, is a 91 x 73 cm portrait from 2021. Composed with thick, expressive brushstrokes, the fictional portrait evokes emotions and ambiguous sensations in the viewer, prompting a reflection on the very act of “looking at a painting” as a physical experience. This piece is part of Takeda's Paintings of Painting series, created during the COVID-19 pandemic between 2020 and 2021. It was first unveiled at Art Fair Hong Kong in 2022, where it drew considerable attention. The work later returned to Tokyo for his solo exhibition at Maho Kubota Gallery.

“Recent Works”, August 27 - October 1, 2022, Maho Kubota Gallery, Tokyo