Stock photo of the man himself at work!Like many nerds of a certain age, I've been a fan of Yoshitaka Amano's ethereal & dreamy art since first seeing his work on the Final Fantasy game series. He's also well known for his artwork for the Vampire Hunter D novel series, as well as his dreamy character designs for Mamoru Oshii's Angel's Egg. So you can imagine my elation when Instagram actually did something RIGHT for once in it's miserable existence-- it showed me an ad for an upcoming art exhibition of works by Amano at a museum that was not too far away from me. Usually Amano's works are shown in galleries in places like New York City and Los Angeles, much too far away for me to consider seeing myself, so this felt like an incredibly rare opportunity. Because of this, I ended up going with a group of friends I told about the exhibition, because why WOULDN'T I share this kind of amazing experience with others?! The more the merrier, right?
The museum that the exhibition was held in is called The Warehouse, and honestly if I hadn't known that this place was a museum, I'd never would have guessed. Located in an area full of unmarked commercial buildings and shipping hubs in DFW's Design District, you could drive right past this place and never know the beautiful pieces of art that it contained inside. This was my first time visiting The Warehouse, and I'm glad it's on my radar now. They seem to have a reputation of showcasing unique artists and exhibitions that might not get as much attention from a traditional museum. (For anyone considering visiting The Warehouse, please note that while it is a free museum, it's only open on Saturdays and you have to reserve a virtual ticket online before you arrive. You can find out more info on their website here.)
Immediately in the lobby of the museum, we were greeted with a small gallery of moody black sumi-ink paintings done on delicate washi paper. While none of the pieces were officially connected to his commercial work, it was hard not to see echoes of his work in Vampire Hunter D or Final Fantasy in some of them. Already, I was in awe at being able to see such delicate ink work up close, and we hadn't even left the lobby yet! This was just an appetizer of what was to come, and it made me all the more excited for it.
My phone struggled to get all of "New York Nights II" into one panorama shot!
The largest, and ironically oldest piece in this exhibition was a huge, 16 meter (that's about 54 feet!) long piece called “New York Nights II”, which Amano painted way back in 1997. This piece was the one I spent the most time with, as it had just SO MUCH to look at. Apparently, this was Amano's first piece ever done on canvas, and he was new to living in New York at the time. So he wanted to create a piece that expressed how he felt living there. And it really does give that kind of feeling —explosions of light and color against inky darkness, random items your eye just happens upon (including a pumpkin, fish, and even a TV!), beautifully detailed patterns (like one that reminded me of snakes that, as the painting went on, morphed into a more circuit board style design), and various people in different states. Some look like they're dancing—or even flying—in joy and ecstasy. Others look more like curled-up cats, sleeping peacefully in piles of soft fabrics. This beautifully rendered chaos inspired by Amano's living in New York doesn't have any of the hallmarks we usually associate with the Big Apple, but I feel like the vibe is definitely there. I wish I could convey just how vibrant and ALIVE this painting feels in person. The colors just jump out at you, and I had the hardest time taking my eyes off of it throughout my visit. Just an amazingly stunning piece.
Another piece I was immediately taken with was a much newer painting that Amano finished in 2024 called “Remembrance of Time”. I can see why it was included in this collection, because it fits with “New York Nights II” very well (which it was hanging opposite to). It too, is a very vibrant and colorful piece that, I must admit, made me think of Chappel Roan! (C'mon, you can see it, too, can't you?? The stylishly made-up face, the red hair, and the bright, almost neon color palette...the queer femme vibes are off the charts!) While not as large as it's New York Nights sibling, it was still quite a big piece as well, and complimented it nicely.
While this part of the exhibition was to showcase more of Amano's original works, I was pleasantly surprised to see two Angel's Egg pieces included! These were actually newer pieces that he made back in 2005 (bottom) and 2018 (top). I wondered if the 2005 piece was done for the film's 20th anniversary, given the date; but there was no information about it on the museum's placard, sadly. Regardless, it was so cool to see art related to a classic anime film that I only just last year finally got to see on the big screen. The 2018 piece of a close-up of the girl's face was so interesting to get to see---with just a few pencil strokes, he gives life and depth to her intense, yet somehow melancholy face. Unmistakably Yoshitaka Amano.
The other piece I wanted to highlight in this collection was his series called “Mozart”. Done across multiple panels of wood covered in gold leaf, they depict various characters in what appears to be a woodland or forest setting. The texture on these are incredible, as he used materials like crayon and tar to get very specific looks onto the gold leaf. It felt very folklore-inspired, with a witchy-looking woman covered in Snakes, a man that looked to be half beast, and a very gender-ambiguous character that was giving me fairy or pixie vibes. (I mean, look at that elfish shoe on that leg! They're serving.) The way the gold leaf reflected the light made these pieces really stand out. The colors and textures looked different depending on the angle and lighting, making them a treat to behold in person, but a bit on the difficult side to photograph.
On a personal note, getting to finally see some of Amano's work up close and personal with my own eyes was a deeply moving experience for me. As many of you know, I've been dealing with a lot of health problems lately, and it's been a bit of a struggle at times for me to have the energy to get out and do even simple things like going to a museum. So the fact that I was able to not only do this, but to also see it with some of my dearest friends, it really meant the world to me. I'm not ashamed to admit that I cried at least three times throughout my visit, because it was just an incredible feeling to get to see such amazing art. I think at one point, I said, “I'm so glad to be alive.” To be reminded what the human hand and heart is capable of...Art can be so restorative to the spirit, even if it's just taking in someone else's art.
This was just a few highlights of the art shown! As of this writing, the exhibition has now gone into it's second phase, with all new pieces on display until July 18th, 2026 when this exhibition ends. Please look forward to a part 2 after I go and see these new pieces myself!
This article was originally written exclusively for paid members of my ko-fi! They got to read it first before anyone else, and their version includes more photos. If you'd like to support what I do, check out my monthly subscriptions on ko-fi here!
No comments:
Post a Comment