B orn in 1980 and raised in Japan, Indonesia-based Kei Imazu has gained popularity for her visually engaging works, often rich in classical references and electrified with her own spin. Imazu has received worldwide recognition, notably with her recent nomination in 2020 as a finalist, alongside the winner Toyin Ojih Odutola, for the prestigious Prix Jean François Prat in France.

Particularly passionate about the interplay between human technology and the natural environment, the artist incorporates sources in her works, from historical art imagery to content on modern-day social media platforms. Black Eyes has gained viral attention on the artist's social media and is adapted as the cover art for American musician Boldy James's studio album The Price of Tea in China. The painting is a succinct exemplifier of the artist's ingeniousness as she fuses technology and painterly traditions by digitally creating compositions before applying them onto the canvas, creating innovative, highly introspective and self-aware pieces. The seemingly free and uncalculated brush strokes were, in fact, precisely mapped in software before execution.

Black Eyes adapted as the album cover of Boldy James‘s The Price of Tea in China, posted on artist's instagrams .
本作被
(instagrams : kei_imazu)

Having an immense interest in art history, Imazu indulges her audience with visual treasure hunts of masterpieces through her eclectic compositions. Black Eyes, in particular, has made several references to the mannerist Florentine painter Agnolo Bronzino's paintings. The sensual arm holding a golden apple, the innocent dove at the bottom left corner are fragments derived from Bronzino's famous Venus, Cupid, Folly and t.mes in the National Museum in London. One could also delineate parts of Bronzino's John the Baptist from the twisted posture of the top right figure. On the top left, the tiny female torso recalls Louvre's priced possession of an Ancient Egyptian sculpture of possibly Nefertiti. Black Eyes emphasises the human body, with most references digitally warped and only recognisable from the signature poses of their limbs. Revolutionising perspective in art, Imazu freely changes the pictorial space, expanding the possibility of the canvas to express concepts of human anatomy while paying homage to her background of classical art studies and further provoking new inspection into art history. After relocating to Bandung, Indonesia, her works have continued to extend into themes of the ecosystem, examining the current natural environment and exposing the truth of humanity's influence on nature.

Black Eyes in progress in artist's studio (center)
本作繪製中，攝於藝術家工作室（牆中央）
(instagrams : kei_imazu)

生於日本而現駐於印尼的今津景出生於1980年，她在創作中引用許多古典藝術的元素並以破格大膽的手法重新詮釋，創作出視覺效果豐富、耐人尋味的作品。今津在國際藝壇備受推崇，她在2020年被提名並入圍享譽國際的法國讓．弗朗索瓦．普拉特獎（Prix Jean François Prat）（該年度優勝者為托印 · 奧吉赫 · 奧杜托拉）。

今津對人類科技與自然環境之間的相互影響尤感興趣，並向歷史流傳下來藝術形象和現代社交平台等不同地方取材。《黑色眼眸》在藝術家的社交平台上掀起了一股熱潮，更被用作美國音樂人邦迪．詹姆士專輯《The Price of Tea in China》的封面。今津先以數碼技術草擬構圖，再於畫布上按稿繪畫，創造出新穎而具有自省意味的作品。看似隨心而發的筆觸，實際上是用數碼軟件精心建構而成，展現她糅合科技與傳統繪畫手法的巧思。

對藝術史極感興趣的今津，在她博採眾長的作品中埋下不少古典藝術鉅作的元素，為觀眾帶來一場視覺上的尋寶遊戲。《黑色眼眸》於構圖多處引用了佛羅倫斯矯飾主義畫家安哥挪羅．布隆吉諾的畫作。本作中拿著金蘋果的誘人臂彎與左下角無辜的白鴿，均出自現藏於倫敦國家美術館的布隆吉諾名作《維納斯、丘比特、荒誕與時間》（Venus, Cupid, Folly and t.mes ）。畫中右上角人物扭曲的姿態，亦貌似取自布隆吉諾的《施洗約翰》（John the Baptist）。左上角縮小的女性軀體，令人想起羅浮宮裡一件被視為法老王后娜芙蒂蒂的古埃及雕塑。《黑色眼眸》旨在突顯人類驅體，而當中引用的元素大多都經過數碼創作的扭曲，觀眾只能透過畫中肢體的姿勢認出原作。今津顛覆了視角的呈現，隨心所欲地改變畫布的空間感，擴闊了畫布的可能性，從而探索人類驅體的不同形態，同時善用了她對古典藝術的認識，帶領觀眾以嶄新的角度審視藝術史。今津移居到印尼萬隆後，她的作品仍持續探討與生態系統相關的主題，探索自然環境的現況，並揭示著人類對自然生態的影響。

Black Eyes in progress in artist's studio
本作繪製中，攝於藝術家工作室
(instagrams : kei_imazu)