There are many paintings by Taro Okamoto that have long been lost. Photographs of them exist, but not the works. Records exist of them being entered into exhibitions, but not the actual works. They appear to have disappeared without a trace, as if spirited away.

However, they have not ‘disappeared’. Recent research has uncovered various facts. The majority of them were overpainted by Taro himself. This was not done merely to alter or correct the image, he changed them to such an extent that they took on a totally different appearance and could no longer be recognized.

Many of his valuable early works from the 1940s and 1950s were lost in this way. Moreover, the works that resulted from this overpainting were all roughly done and poorly finished. They can honestly only be described as being poor paintings. I wish they had been left as they were. That is my honest opinion. But why would Taro do such a thing?
The missing works share no commonality and there is no obvious reason for them to have been destroyed. After all, he had been proud enough of them to enter them into exhibitions. No matter how hard I think about it, I cannot understand his motive.

One thing we know for certain is the fact that these valuable works of Taro’s are buried in front of our eyes. I want to see them with my own eyes. It is a simple wish, to dig up a work that is buried underground and expose it to the sun once more. That is a true excavation.

Of course, they could be recreated from the original photographs using computer graphics. However, the results would lack presence, and fail to transmit the true atmosphere of the work. I want to see oil paintings as oil paintings. To this end, I have chosen five of the missing works and painted them afresh, using oils.

Some people may criticize my actions, saying that I should not be allowed to selfishly expose these works that the artist had chosen to hide, but I am prepared for this.

‘Once an artist has sent his work out into the world, it no longer belongs to him. It belongs to everybody.’ This is something that Okamoto himself said numerous times.

Through contact with ‘our works’ that have long been lost, I hope to be able to draw slightly closer to the true image of Taro Okamoto. It was with this ambition that I created this exhibition.