Inside the Studio

Hitomi Kammai

Favorite material to work with?
Metallic paintings

What themes do you pursue?
Humanity

Sketchbook? Do you use one? What type?
I have tried different notebooks. Now Adam et Ropé but not satisfied. I have to make one by my self.

Where is your studio?
I have my studio in east London. During my recent stay in Tokyo, I borrowed a big modern flat on the 22nd floor of a building with a beautiful view on the city. Though it was not easy to work there without dirtying the place.

What was the best advice given to you as an artist?
“You must not wait. Go to find the chance.”

Art school or self-taught?
There are so many things to study as an artist and you can’t go to school every time. It is better to teach yourself.

Succulents or cigarettes?
I quit smoking. So succulents…. sound lovely. Yes, I do prefer succulents.

Where can we find you outside the studio?
I don’t want people to find me. So it’s secret…

If you couldn’t be an artist, what would you do?
A political activist like my grandfather.

Greatest achievement?
I work for a project about Fukushima.  I had my image of paintings with dents because of radiated rain. To realize this, I and my volunteers had to use drills and made 449 dents on a painting.

Would you rather be able to make a living as an artist now or become famous after you die? Every one can make a living as an artist nowadays. They just need to keep doing.

Would you rather see your art on a t-shirt or on a billboard?
Both

Astrology or astronomy?
Both

Religion or pop culture?
Both

Traditional or conceptual?
Both

Favorite contemporary artist? Panamarenko, he made humorous and poetic sculptures.

Use anything other than paint?
I work through kinetic sculptures, photography,video and installation. I prefer my works evolve rather than  making same paintings repeatedly for my whole life.

Oil or Acrylic?
I say acrylic. I can mix it easily with different materials such as Japanese traditional pigments.

Figurative or Abstract?
Abstract

Representational or Surreal?
Surreal

Is painting dead?
Once dead, put in the hole, and dug out again.

Favorite brush?
Wood rasps drill bits.

What do you wear while you paint?
Silky shirt with a ribbon.

Painting Inside or Outside?
Now inside but I used to make my sculptures at Central Park when I lived in a small flat in NY.

Drink beer while you build?
I prefer wine.

Outsourcing or handmade?
I would like to outsource everything if I had money. I always have a lot of ideas but don’t have enough time to realize all of them.

Koons or Hirst?
I don’t like either of them, though I’ve parodied them in my recent works.