‘The Face is the universe.
Eyes are the holes through which existence and the universe unite.’

Taro Okamoto did not paint still lifes or Mt. Fuji.
What he depicted was ‘life’ itself.
That is why so many of his works feature faces.
This was particularly true in his latter years when all he painted were faces.
Although described as ‘faces’, most of them consist only the eyes.
Glaring eyes, seething with vitality.
Towards the end of his life, Taro Okamoto painted nothing but eyes.
All of these paintings appear extremely rough and unfinished, and none of them can, even flatteringly, be described as great works.
Doubtless, he was not interested in painting them well or achieving a high degree of finish. To the contrary, he may not even have meant them to be seen by others.
Why was it that at a time when he should have been producing works that crowned a glorious career, he devoted himself to these childish paintings, and why should he have chosen eyes as his motif?
This is what we would like to consider, surrounded by these, ‘holes through which existence and the universe unite.’ That is the object of this exhibition.
We hope that you will enjoy coming into contact with all ‘Taro Okamoto’s eyes’, from his paintings to his souvenirs.