CREATIVE ARTIST
Painting, Graphic Design, Illustration
Writing, Sculpture, Photography...

ART AND SUN  By Ramil Mendoza

 

I wish I had a dog like Dennis Sun’s.

 

This one had on a four-pointed court jester’s hat, with stars and bells. He also looks like he had a pirate’s eyepatch, only it is not a patch. His left blue eye shines brightly through the patch in a mischievous smile as his black-spotted white body seems to float through a heart-shaped hole in a tree, as two mystical peacocks watch. Pink butterflies flutter above sunflowers, as snail-shaped clouds float in a painted background, framed by velvet curtains. This dog is pulling off a trick, and he is enjoying it.

 

In another painting, this dog is laughing as he watches the fairy princess float with her snake wand between checkerboard worlds filled with castles and minarets, smiling flowers, sun and moon, stars, rainbows, cacti, banderitas and a grinning cat.

 

In Dennis Sun’s paintings, I can feel my early childhood visions and wishes come to life - worlds filled with color, smiling giraffes, trees, kings and queens, flowers, and a dog with a four pointed, star-studded jester’s hat.

 

In his new exhibition “Pieces of Dream”, which opens on June 27, 2021 at the Koyama Gardens in Nerima, Tokyo, Dennis Sun showcases his work during a difficult period of his life, when he just moved to Japan from the Philippines, alone, without family and friends. No one knew him, and he found life difficult, as he did not speak the language. The culture was entirely different from what he knew. The challenges he faced were daunting and frightening to say the least.

 

Dennis said ‘I painted a lot during these times. And what resulted in my paintings were perhaps what my “inner-self” was trying to tell me. I wasn’t in a happy place and time then. And I think my art is giving me positive messages. Comforting me. Though it was dark outside, it seemed inside me, it was so bright and colorful. And that went straight right into the canvas.’

 

Art is a conversation, where ideas, thoughts and feelings are expressed and received in a manner unhindered by the barriers of language, culture and social background. The artist communicates with his audience, connects with them. In creating his art, the artist also connects with himself - art as an act of self-discovery.  

 

At this time in his life, Dennis was clearly deep in conversation with himself, with the canvas transcribing everything that was spoken. And the product was eloquent, elegant and bright as sunlight.

 

In this crucible, the artist discovered himself.

 

Dennis does not consider his paintings finished until they are sold or given to someone. As long as they are in his possession, they are still changing, evolving. His paintings would undergo transformation, depending on the theme of his exhibition. In his two previous exhibitions during the COVID 19 Pandemic, he added masks to some of the characters in his paintings and one art collector was so amused that he said he wanted to have a souvenir artwork that would remind him about the pandemic. In that way, Dennis is also a chronicler of this age.

 

But more than a record of the present, his art is about hope. Dennis says that he had many paintings in storage which he has not exhibited before, and he thought it was right timing during this pandemic to show his works to add more positivity to the world. As an artist, he thought it was the best way that he could help make the world a better place. Dennis adds “And maybe, it’s timely now during this pandemic that the paintings I made then wanted to show themselves to other people, as messages of hope and happiness.”

 

A critic once told him that he could see bits of Marc Chagall in some of his works. Dennis likes Gaugin more, and is studying his use of colors. Dennis grew up watching Disney, and truly adores Salvador Dali. But the light in his work is truly Dennis’ own - it is about joy that lives and breathes within each of us.

 

Art touches and moves us. For most people, the experience is something that is hard to put into words. Whether it is a song, a play, a poem, a novel, a painting, it can express the feelings and thoughts of the artist, and evoke feelings and emotions that we probably knew were there, but unaware of the depth and breadth of.

 

I am aware, however, of how Dennis’ paintings make me feel. I know that I can look at Dennis’ masterpieces, and remember how it was to be truly happy as a young child, lying down on soft grass on a cool day, looking at the clouds and daydreaming of castles and rainbows, kings and queens, meadows and forests…and yes - a smiling dog with a four-pointed star-studded jester’s hat.

 

KOYAMA GARDENS

Tokyo, Nerima ku, Kouyama 3-1-21

 

DATE: June 27 – July 9, 2021

OPENS:  9:00 AM – 5:00 PM everyday

 

FREE entrance to the garden and exhibition

 

TRAIN LINE ACCESS:

TOSHIMAEN STATION, along Ooedo Line & Seibu Ikebukuro Line

 It's a 3 minute walk away from Toshimaen Station along Ooedo Line and Seibu Ikebukuro Line.

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MAP ACCESS:

https://www.kouyama-teien.info/access/

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