Mutsuo Murata, Round Table, 1997

Oil on canvas
45 x 60 cm (visible), 66 x 80 x 7 cm (framed)
Condition: Very good

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村田 睦夫 (Mutsuo Murata)
丸テーブル (Round Table)

Mutsuo Murata (Japanese, b. 1948) is a Japanese artist known for his Western approach to oil painting. His still life compositions feature local Japanese objects and produce, drawing deeper meaning and symbolism into his work with remarkable delicacy.

This piece was purchased in 1997 by a Japanese construction firm from Galerie Nichido and has since hung its Singapore office for almost 30 years. Established in 1928 in Tokyo, Galerie Nichido was one of the first Japanese galleries to introduce Western-style oil painting to the Japanese art scene. The gallery expanded internationally to Paris in the 70s, and has since hosted artistic exchanges and showcased contemporary talent between Japan and France.

I like this piece because it captures Japan’s fascination with Western, European painting styles and sensibilities throughout the 1900s. The seemingly random arrangement of colours and subject matter appears deliberate to me, it was a way for the artist to showcase his technical abilities: the play of light refraction and colour through angular glass vessels, the texture of the fruit, the weight of the pineapple contrasted by the delicate draping of fabric, and the dimensionality of the round table. Also persimmon and strawberries are important fruits in Japanese culture, and the pineapple makes for a curious addition.

(Photographed in December 2024)