All this discourse over who does "painting with light"
Hiroshi Nagai's paintings need sunglasses to look at.
They look like how it feels to walk across a parking lot on a 98° summer day without a speck of shade in sight.
They look like heaven but also like you'd burn your bare feet on the ground.
Even when you can see shade you know it's not enough and the minute you step out you'll be burnt to a crisp like a vampire.
And it's BEAUTIFUL
I'll throw in the wonderful Eizin Suzuki into this ring too, a man whose work just breathes light without actually using dynamic lighting in the usual way. It's no surprise both Nagai and Suzuki are both considered prolific in art pertaining to the city pop genre because they're able to paint these kinds of scenes with a delicate touch.
This feels like I could trip on that radio and fall right into that water, feeling the crystal waves as I drop in.
And this, a nice stroll down a resort strip, where my sunscreened skin could literally feel cooked if I leaned too close to the tiling.
And then a nice stretch of summer street, wherein you could see your face in the flushed red of that car provided it didn't blind you from its sunny reflections.
I don't think I even need to say anything more, Suzuki's a massive influence in how he even places colours so warmly in such unorthodox manner. It's a naturally sunkissed talent~ 🌊
