Friction in the Living Room: Paintings by Claudia Kogachi
Claudia Kogachi in her studio. Photo: Annamarie Ott
Claudia Kogachi (b. 1995, Awaji-shima, Japan) is based in Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland), Aotearoa/New Zealand.
Her works are typically cartoon-like in style—all planes of vibrant colour and dynamic body angles. They often centre on family, exploring aspects of the artist’s life story and cultural background, as well as more widespread phenomena. Her early paintings show pairs of blue-skinned women engaged in competitive and physical activities. Sometimes the figures appear in domestic spaces. They play soccer in the laundry, table tennis over breakfast, and box in a living room reminiscent of that on The Simpsons.
The pieces are formally compelling, marked by an awkward but wholly legible perspective and an enthusiasm for pattern. They overflow with energy. The women are strong, athletic, yet pleasingly unidealised. Their bodies are lumpy, armpits and legs frequently left hairy. At least two narratives are in operation. On the surface, competitors face off in various contexts. Beneath it, Kogachi and her mother quarrel. The works allude to a common experience: friction between child and parent.
In newer paintings, the artist addresses the personal more directly, reflecting on her Japanese-Hawaiian cultural heritage and including other family members. One piece shows her mother and obachan (grandmother) dressing her in her kimono. A relatively naturalistic work, currently on display at the Gus Fisher Gallery in Tāmaki Makaurau, depicts her late jiichan (grandfather) asleep in front of the TV in an All Blacks top. Earlier in 2020, Kogachi presented a series of rug-based works at play_station gallery in Te Whanganui-a-Tara (Wellington).
These recreated clothes once worn by her jiichan, such as board shorts and a homemade ‘aloha shirt’ decorated with fans. Another rug, on show at Artspace Aotearoa in Tāmaki Makaurau, also centres on clothes. In it, a blue woman holds up a blouse next to a couch strewn with laundry. The blue is warmer than usual here, but the mood more sombre.
At first, I want to read the figure as Kogachi’s mum, wearily folding washing. In fact, it is the artist herself, at work as a nanny. She now occupies the parental role. It’s a moving piece, and one that underscores her knack for blending the deeply specific and the oh-so familiar.
Claudia Kogachi in her studio. Photo: Annamarie Ott
Claudia Kogachi in her studio. Photo: Annamarie Ott
Claudia Kogachi in her studio. Photo: Annamarie Ott
Claudia Kogachi in her studio. Photo: Annamarie Ott
Claudia Kogachi in her studio. Photo: Annamarie Ott
Claudia Kogachi in her studio. Photo: Annamarie Ott
Claudia Kogachi in her studio. Photo: Annamarie Ott
Claudia Kogachi in her studio. Photo: Annamarie Ott
Claudia Kogachi in her studio. Photo: Annamarie Ott
Connie Brown on Claudia Kogachi’s exhibition New Moon, Melanie Roger Gallery, 31 August – 17 September 2022.