Novo
- Introduction of Artist
- NOVO is an artist who began his career as a tattooist before expanding his practice into painting. His works originate from objects discovered in everyday life—characters, toys, and souvenirs collected during his travels. Rather than treating these objects as passive subjects, NOVO spends time observing them and cultivating a personal relationship with each one. He describes this attitude through the word understand. For him, to understand is not to look down upon a subject, but to stand beneath it with humility and respect. The emotions that emerge through this process of attentive observation are ultimately translated onto the canvas.
Regardless of subject matter, NOVO approaches painting through the language of the still life. Rather than pursuing faithful representation, he begins by collecting an object, placing it within his own environment, and allowing time to build a relationship with it. Through this process of understanding, each object acquires a new identity. Familiar characters, spacecraft, toys, and found objects become companions that explore the world on the artist's behalf. References to cinema and popular culture frequently appear throughout his work. E.T., released in the same year the artist was born, becomes a heroic figure whose innocence has the power to save the world, while Buzz Lightyear exists simultaneously as a toy and an astronaut, embarking on imaginary journeys in place of the artist himself. These intimate relationships enrich his paintings with narrative while continually expanding the imaginative world he constructs.
NOVO's artistic practice is rooted in tattooing. Drawn to spontaneous forms of expression rather than conventional academic training, he became interested in the ways simple lines, dots, and graphic forms could be inscribed onto the human body. For him, tattooing has never been merely decorative; it functions as a medium of memory and communication. Images left upon the body become traces of particular moments, emotions, and relationships. During his years working as a tattoo artist in France, NOVO developed a highly personal artistic language grounded in freedom and direct expression.
His fascination with rapid lines and intuitive gestures naturally led him toward painting. The sensibility cultivated through tattooing remains evident in his canvases today, where the immediacy of line and the speed of drawing continue to shape his visual language. Rather than emphasizing meticulous representation, NOVO values the fleeting movement of the hand, the rhythm of line, and the vitality of spontaneous mark-making.
For NOVO, painting is less a result-oriented practice than an act of play. He values the unpredictability and movement that emerge throughout the creative process, maintaining an openness to images that arise instinctively rather than following predetermined methods. Humor, energy, and enjoyment are essential elements of his practice, and these qualities resonate throughout both his character-based imagery and the dynamic compositions of his paintings.
Travel, the central theme of this exhibition, likewise occupies an important place within NOVO's practice. Rather than understanding travel as a form of leisure or consumption, he approaches it as the beginning of observation, collection, and discovery. His attention is directed toward the colors, light, and forms encountered along the way, focusing less on documenting recognizable landmarks than on the unexpected details that momentarily capture his gaze. His landscapes therefore do not function as records of specific places but as visual translations of lived sensations. Sunlight, shadows, and the colors of everyday objects become the fundamental elements through which each scene is constructed.
NOVO's travel works are founded upon the acts of observing, collecting, and understanding the people, objects, and environments encountered throughout his journeys. By patiently attending to the world around him, he has developed an artistic practice grounded in sustained attention and empathy. Through emotional engagement with diverse subjects, he continues to expand his imaginative universe with the openness and curiosity of play.
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