Susumu Kamijo

ROOM 511

“Yes. I like poodles. But I also like medium-rare ribeye steak, vintage scotch, my new iPhone with no stupid cracks on the screen, clean underwear, curling players, fat penguins in Antarctica, and probably a few hundred or thousand other things in the world. So, I ask myself, “Why do I keep drawing poodles?” The most appropriate answer that comes to my mind is that I’m obsessed with the form of poodles, especially the form of dolled-up show poodles sculpted by the hands of devoted groomers. The form makes me feel a sort of joyful resolution in the drawings. It’s like
being in the perfect state of intoxication at a party with good friends and music—you wish it would never end. The same kind of obsession with form can be said about the background landscape and the spherical sun or moon in the drawings. I hate being too romantic and lazy, but one of my favorite things to do is to gaze at the horizon line of the sea, sit on a perfectly comfortable beach chair, and sip warm local beer or a piña colada until stars pop up in the black sky. I would like to tell you about the colors and the mark making in the drawings, but if I start deeply contemplating the meaning and reasons behind them, I will most likely need to go see a psychotherapist who takes my insurance. So, I’m going to skip it this time, and go back to my studio.”