Portuguese landscapes produced using the Japanese Nihonga technique are exhibited in Sintra
Portuguese landscapes in the vision of the Romanian artist Roland Pangrati, works produced using the Japanese Nihonga technique, are on display at the Sintra Art Museum until May 8.
Under the title “Water and Stone Road”, the exhibition includes works inspired by some of the most representative natural, rocky sites in Portugal, and is presented for the second time in Portugal, after the success of 2024 in Lisabona. It is curated by Cristina Simion.
In this creative cycle, the well-known Romanian artist uses his favorite themes, rocks – static element and water – dynamic element, transforming the landscapes of the Atlantic coast into conceptual, almost abstract compositions. He fuses sometimes recognizable fragments of reality with elaborate, poetic and mystical imaginary perspectives, presenting the coexistence of rocks and ocean water in moments of harmonic calm.
Nihonga developed as an artistic movement in direct response to the transformation of Japanese society during the Meiji period. The technique means only the traditional materials of Japanese painting. The image is first sketched on paper or silk, then outlined with sumi ink, obtained by mixing nikawa, a gelatin or animal glue, with carbon black. Kofun (chalk) was then used to cover the surface and then the background color was applied.
The power of the images is amplified, thanks to the collaboration between Roland Pangrati and composer, conductor and sound designer Eugen Dan Dragoi. Creating a concept unique in the world, the composer imagines a polyphony of the architecture of the exhibition space, enriching the visual aspect with temporal movement. The viewer thus has the opportunity to fully experience the imaginative world, complementing it with his own spiritual experience.
In 2023 and 2024, Roland Pangrati visited Portugal and documented photographically and cinematographically impressed by the landscapes of Praia dos Três Irmãos, São Gonçalo de Lagos, Colares, Ericeira, Almancil, Praia do Senhor da Pedra, Praia de Valadares, Praia do Beliche, Sagres, São João das Lampas, Cabo da Roca. The transgression of the spectacular Portuguese coastline into works depicting an inner world of astonishing richness is influenced by both the Japanese philosopher Yasunari Kawabata and the poems of Fernando Pessoa, who accompanied and inspired Pangrati on an almost initiatory journey.
The artist’s compositions depict the tumultuous coexistence of water and rocks in a very restricted chromatic palette, the path of stone and water that accompanies the entire Portuguese history, a parable of patience, transformation, evolution, indescribable sensation, saudade, the most beautiful equivalent of the Romanian word dor. Traveling through Portugal from north to south, along the coast “on the edge of the continent”, Pangrati redefines his artistic universe and manages to transform specific natural elements into universal symbols.
Curator Cristina Simion has previously worked with Pangrati for the exhibition series “The Moon Glows the Same” in 2022.
Photo credit: Roland Pangrati
