FOLLOWING KATSUSHIKA. The work of Japanese painter Reijiro "Rei" Mochizuki (pictured) and photographer Shouichiro "Hooky" Fukuda is currently showing at "Survival Drive," an exhibit at northwest Port- land’s Compound Gallery. The show chronicles their four-month journey across Japan creating sketches and photographs. (Photo/Matt Wagner, courtesy of the Compound Gallery)

From The Asian Reporter, V19, #32 (August 18, 2009), page 11.

By Allison Voigts

Japanese artist Reijiro Mochizuki picked up a bucket of pale blue paint, dipped in his brush, and applied it to the black canvas without pausing to think. Within minutes, blue and white ripples erupted from the lower right corner of the frame, and the crowd behind him squeezed closer to take photos on their cell phones. An hour later, the artist signed his name to the painting, which had evolved into a modern skyline framed by an arterial maze that bled from the canvas to the gallery wall.

Mochizuki, who goes by the name "Rei," visited Portland with his friend, photographer Shouichiro "Hooky" Fukuda, for the opening of "Survival Drive," the pair’s show, during the First Thursday gallery walk this month. Matt Wagner, curator at Compound Gallery in Chinatown, invited the duo to exhibit after learning about their four-month art project travelling across Japan in the old tradition of artists such as Hokusai Katsushika.

Katsushika, who made ukiyo-e woodblock prints during the 18th and 19th centuries, wandered the country capturing landscapes (like the famous "Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji" series which includes "The Great Wave Off Kanagawa") as well as local people and their daily lives.

"We wanted to introduce the idea of the travelling artist to foreigners, but also reintroduce the tradition to the Japanese," Hooky said.

Judging from their paintings and photographs, what they viewed differs greatly from what old masters like Katsushika saw. Rei and Hooky’s landscapes are mostly industrial: dim tunnels lit by bare fluorescent bulbs, vast cityscapes stretching across the horizon, pipes and power lines crisscrossing like spider webs.

Both artists are sparing with color. Hooky’s prints for "Survival Drive" are entirely black and white, while Rei uses dabs of neon green or cerulean on select paintings. Rei’s style seems inspired by graffiti art, leaping from canvasses onto walls and ceilings, as well as cartoons, with bubble-like creatures inhabiting many of his spaces.

Rei and Hooky juxtapose their individual works in a book version, Survival Drive (on sale at the gallery for $45), which places drawings and photographs of the same scenes side by side. This format allows for an interesting comparison of the way artists can interpret the same subject using different mediums.

As for the work in the Portland show, the visiting artists created each of the paintings and collages, including a series on Portland’s bridges, during their two-week stay in the city just prior to the show’s opening.

"As soon as they hit the ground, they started painting," says Wagner, who hosted the artists and their entourage at his house. "They were wandering around my neighborhood and painting in my garage."

Wagner lit upon the idea of a live painting performance at the "Survival Drive" reception after travelling through Japan and witnessing the craze for painting during club events, usually with a DJ spinning and crowds of glamorous young people snapping photos.

Watching the performance at Compound Gallery, it was easy to see the attraction. Rei, in a paint-spattered jacket and purple tennis shoes, moved to the beat of a techno album mixed by friends in Tokyo, eliciting an excitement in the crowd that felt atypical for an art reception.

"It’s something that should happen here more," Wagner says. "You get an insight into how the artist’s mind works."

"Survival Drive" runs through August 30 at Compound Gallery, located at 107 N.W. Fifth Avenue in Portland. The gallery is open Monday through Saturday from noon to 8:00pm and Sunday from noon to 6:00pm. To learn more, call (503) 796-2733 or visit <www.compoundgallery.com>.