{"id":7042701,"date":"2026-08-20T10:14:56","date_gmt":"2026-08-20T10:14:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/entertainment\/art\/fumiya-odagawa-dream-and-memory\/"},"modified":"2026-08-20T10:14:56","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T10:14:56","slug":"fumiya-odagawa-dream-and-memory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7042701","title":{"rendered":"Fumiya Odagawa: Dream and Memory"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Fumiya Odagawa won the Acrylic Award in Jackson\u2019s Art Prize 2026 with his work The Poppy Sways<\/em>. In this interview, he discusses his nocturnal routine, the conversations between his painted figures, and the beautiful colour combinations he finds in nature.<\/p>\n

Above image: <\/strong>Fumiya in his studio<\/small><\/p>\n\n

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The Poppy Sways<\/em>, 2025
Fumiya Odagawa
Acrylic on canvas, 65.2 x 53 cm | 25.6 x 20.8 in<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Josephine: Could you share the story of how you became an artist and tell us more about your artistic background?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fumiya: I\u2019ve loved drawing ever since I was little. My earliest memory is of a teacher at my nursery school who was good at drawing \u2013 I was always so happy whenever she drew animals or dinosaurs for me. From then on, I was always drawing.<\/p>\n

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Fumiya painting in the studio<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Josephine: What does a typical working day in the studio look like for you? Do you have any important routines or rituals?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fumiya: Nighttime is when I can concentrate the most, so drawing at night could be called a habit of mine. I\u2019ve tried to fix my lifestyle many times, but I\u2019ve always failed.<\/p>\n

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Living Out the Quiet of Summer<\/em>, 2026
Fumiya Odagawa
Acrylic on canvas, 145.5 x 97 cm | 57.1 x 38.2 in<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Josephine: Which materials or tools could you not live without?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fumiya: Painting is the most fun for me, so paint and brushes are absolutely essential.<\/p>\n

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My Summer Day<\/em>, 2026
Fumiya Odagawa
Acrylic on canvas, 45.5 x 38 cm | 17.7 x 14.9 in<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Josephine: Do you work from a reference? Tell us more about your process.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fumiya: In my university days, I worked from sketches. I believed that carefully observing and understanding objects was necessary to create a real sense of presence in my work, so I made sketches outdoors and elsewhere, building up a store of reference material.<\/p>\n

For the past three years or so, I\u2019ve wanted a bit more play and looseness in my lines and shapes. So rather than focusing on the quantity of reference material or getting things \u2018correct\u2019, I now value whether a shape or flow looks interesting or simply feels good.<\/p>\n

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Reference images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Josephine: Do you regularly draw or keep a sketchbook? If so, how does this inform your work?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fumiya: I feel like before, I was doing far more than I needed to, without much purpose. Now I try to make sketches that are more like doodles with ideas in them \u2013 ones I can carry directly into the painting itself.<\/p>\n

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Sketches<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Josephine: Have you ever had a period of stagnation in creativity? If so, what helped you overcome it?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fumiya: Sometimes I do struggle to come up with new ideas. Travelling and watching lots of films help bring about change in a stagnant situation. Going to see a good exhibition is nice too.<\/p>\n

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Close up<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Josephine: Are there any specific artists or mentors who have inspired you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fumiya: The painters I\u2019ve been influenced by are Edvard Munch and Pierre Bonnard. I\u2019ve also been influenced by Japanese woodblock print artists.<\/p>\n

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The End of Summer<\/em>, 2026
Fumiya Odagawa
Acrylic on canvas, 45.5 x 53 cm | 17.7 x 20.8 in<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Josephine: What were you thinking about or exploring at the time you made The Poppy Sways<\/em>? What inspired it, and how did it come to be?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fumiya: I\u2019ve long been working on a series of pieces centred on relationships and conversations between figures \u2013 works that make you wonder about the connection between the people in them. That\u2019s because it\u2019s easy to imagine the story the characters suggest, which makes the painting easier to create.<\/p>\n

But with this piece, I wanted a different structure \u2013 one where the background and small objects catch the eye more than the main figure does. The person was simply part of the painting\u2019s overall scenery, a piece meant to make the shapes and flow of colour more intriguing.<\/p>\n

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Black out<\/em>, 2025
Fumiya Odagawa
Acrylic on canvas, 162 x 130 cm | 63.7 x 51.1 in<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Josephine: What made you submit this piece to Jackson\u2019s Art Prize?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fumiya: One appealing thing was how easily I could take part in a London open call exhibition. I\u2019ve been influenced a great deal by European artists, so I wanted my own work to have a presence in that space too.<\/p>\n

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The Empty Day<\/em>, 2026
Fumiya Odagawa
Acrylic on canvas, 53.1 x 41.1 cm | 20.87 x 16.14 in<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Josephine: There\u2019s a distortion of the figure in your work that creates a dizzying, dreamlike sense of space. Could you talk us through how you achieve this effect, and what role it plays in your paintings?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fumiya: First, that might be a way of avoiding getting too close to realism. Another reason is that I\u2019ve always liked photos that are blurred or out of focus. I find uncertain shapes and colours more interesting and appealing than sharply rendered images. That quality suited the atmosphere of my paintings, which feel like a mix of dreams and memory.<\/p>\n

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The Nowhere Things<\/em>, 2026
Fumiya Odagawa
Acrylic on canvas, 36.4 x 38.9 cm | 14.3 x 15.3 in<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Josephine: What\u2019s your relationship with colour, and how do you decide on the colour palette for a painting?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fumiya: Originally, I wasn\u2019t very good at choosing colour. So rather than deciding freely on my own, I gathered reference material on which colours would come together well and look beautiful. Lately, I\u2019ve been using the colours of butterflies and flowers as reference.<\/p>\n

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Close up of a painting<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Josephine: Are there any new techniques or ideas you\u2019re excited to explore using the materials from your prize?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fumiya: The Golden acrylic paints I will be receiving are wonderful \u2013 finely milled and remarkably vivid in colour. Acrylic paint tends to lose volume as it dries, but I want to create works that bring out, to the fullest, the beauty of colour and texture these paints have when seen in person.<\/p>\n

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In the studio<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Josephine: How did it feel to move through the stages of the competition and win the Acrylic Award?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fumiya: I was delighted to have been chosen from what seems to have been a very large number of applicants.<\/p>\n

Josephine: What\u2019s coming up next for you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fumiya: I\u2019ll be doing a residency in Spain at the end of the year. There will also be an exhibition on-site, so I\u2019m really looking forward to it. I would be very pleased if more and more people could see my work going forward.<\/p>\n

Follow Fumiya on Instagram<\/a><\/p>\n

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Further Reading<\/h2>\n

Meet Angela Lizon, Winner of Jackson\u2019s Art Prize 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Jackson\u2019s Art Prize 2026 First Prize Winner Announced<\/a><\/p>\n

How We Collaborate With Artists<\/a><\/p>\n

Expert Advice on Making Your Way as an Artist<\/a><\/p>\n

Shop Acrylic Painting on jacksonsart.com<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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