Biography
Tsukasa Kambara, the fifth of six children, was born on November 22, 1954 in the Miyazaki-Ken province (Kyushu, Japan). Upon graduation from high school, Tomitaka, he enrolled in Tokyo Designer Gakuin, a well-respected designer college in Japan. There his studies focused on architecture, which has considerably influenced the direction of his work. After his studies, he worked in Tokyo as an interior and graphic designer for eight years.
While living in Japan, he became increasingly interested in America and its culture. His interest grew out of exposure to American literature, film, and television and developed into a desire to travel to the country itself. This dream became a reality in 1983, when at the age of 29 he finally set foot in America. Three years later he married his wife, Claudette, with whom he has five children: four daughters and one son. He and his family have lived in West Virginia for the past 22 years and continue to reside in Charleston.
Inspiration for his work has come from both his native Japanese culture and adopted American culture as well as heavily influenced by architecture. Specifically the designs of architects such as Frank Lloyd Wright and Charles Rennie Mackintosh have significantly impacted his current work. Additionally, his work has been influenced by abstract artists such as Jackson Pollack and Mark Rothko. With these influences, over the year he has developed his individual style to portray the principle of chaos and order.
About
Chaos and order are two states which contradict yet exist in harmony with one another. While most of the abstract art I have seen is dominated by a sense of chaos, the ultimate goal of my work is to bring in order and capture this harmony through an abstract performance of simple shapes and colors. Sharp lines and geometric shapes held in relief to the paintings itself represents the balance between these two states. The painting is heavily influenced by my native Japanese culture with a color palette dominated by black, white, strong reds, and metallics. The structure of my work draws on architectural and Western influences; reminiscent of the works of Frank Lloyd Wright and Mondrian. The harmony and separation of these two states in my work is representative of the human mind. While the mind is naturally in a state of chaos, a sense of order is consciously sought. When this order is achieved and the states balanced, the mind is at peace.