Anna Zhao

    anna.whizh@yahoo.com

    MORE than 200 poster designs and 51 paintings by Japanese graphic designer Shin Matsunaga are on exhibition at OCT Art & Design Gallery in Nanshan District through Dec. 29. The exhibition is the first time Matsunaga’s works have been showcased on the Chinese mainland.

    The posters, mainly including designs for products, art galleries, exhibitions and corporate logos, are a review of the achievements of the 75-year-old master designer, who fetched worldwide fame as Japan’s leading designer of the third generation in the post-World War II era, after Yusaku Kamekura and Ikko Tanaka.

    As a designer praised for his pleasant, simple designs, Matsunaga has a pair of insightful eyes that can grasp the quintessence of a product under design.

    His designs center on the “three-meter radius” philosophy, meaning that he gains inspiration from objects within three meters of wherever he is working. In his autobiography, he said his design style originated in his youth, before he turned 18, a time when he became a careful observer of life because he often had to move to continue his studies.

    When his poster design for Japanese tissue brand “Scottie” in the 1990s won a top award, his style became more entrenched. For the contest, the entrants were required to draft a design under the theme of flowers. Matsunaga’s design stood out from more traditional submissions because he created an abstract flower shape floating over straight lines, which he considered the “flower” of modern society.

    His interpretations of objects were drawn from his understanding of the objects’ essence and function.

    In a package design for incense, he transformed the idea of incense into solid shapes, because he saw the link between incense and people.

    “People burn incense when they pray for blessings in Eastern cultures. No matter what their wishes are, they are hoping for something, so I made different geometrical shapes stand for various wishes,” Matsunaga said.

    Even daily items that are considered trash can be a source of creation. A group of posters on the gallery’s second floor were born after the designer “found interesting combinations of trash after arranging them in a random way.”

    Matsunaga said he works to meet his clients’ demands during the day, but tries to free himself from work at night so his creative energies can flow free through painting.

    For one poster, he painted himself as a black-faced human being with geometric shapes in his ears. The poster is a self-portrait of him undergoing a torturous moment in life: The subject is keeping the pressure of work from disturbing him, as represented by the geometric shapes in his ears.

    A series of cartoonish drawings that he named “Freaks” are wild reveries created during his quest for his own identity between designer and artist.

    He Jianping, the exhibition’s curator, said ordinary viewers would have no difficulty appreciating his works because their beauty often strikes a chord with viewers.

    “He (Matsunaga) has given his designs a type of painting-like beauty, thus presenting a visual effect pleasant to the eyes,” He said. “He sees what ordinary people see in life, but he goes beyond by redefining the beauty of what is oblivious to ordinary eyes and re-creates them in an artistic way.

    Matsunaga once said at an exhibition in New York that his designs always begin with a quest for the meaning of the product and how the product will be used in daily life. “I firmly believe that better designs are born if I make my judgment based on life experiences. The really important thing lies in how the product and its package meet people’s needs in life,” he said.

    Born in Tokyo in 1940, Matsunaga completed the design course at Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music in 1964. After graduation, he worked for cosmetic producer Shiseido. In 1971, he founded his own design studio.

    As an award-winning designer, he has held exhibitions around the world, in countries such as the United States, Poland, Puerto Rico, Belgium, France, Germany, Canada and Brazil.

    His awards include the International Poster Biennale Warsaw Gold Medal and Honorary Award, the Education Minister’s Arts Encouragement Prize for Freshmen, a Grand Prix at the Clios and the Grand Prix in the 35th SDA Award (Japan Sign Design Association).

    Time: Until Dec. 29

    Hours: 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. (closed Mondays, open on holidays)

    Venue: OCT Art & Design Gallery, 9009-1 Shennan Boulevard, Overseas Chinese Town (南山区华侨城深南大道9009-1号)

    Metro: Luobao Line, OCT Station, Exit C (罗宝线华侨城站C出口)