On the occasion of a visit to my exhibition in Tokyo, the art critic Takeshi KANAZAWA gave me the following text:
Extract

The challenge of a lifetime　

I was captivated by the paintings, whose brilliance of color was unknown to me: a series of colored surfaces distinguished by a three-dimensional effect and a poetic feeling.Artist Kazuaki Takahashi has mastered all the skills of an expressive artist, and has pushed himself as an artist to pursue the expression of the spirit of the times and the meaning of his work, as well as reflecting on his place in the world of different cultures.All this is only possible with a young, flexible mind, a healthy body, sufficient knowledge of foreign languages, integrity and a keen sense of purpose, while venturing alone into a foreign country where you need to be trained.

Fortunately for him, he discovered drawing when he entered the great art country of France.It's no exaggeration to say that the journey to painting begins with learning the eye and arm, as is the case with the “写生”(sha sei, self-transformation through drawing) of Japanese painting.After gaining confidence by studying drawing at the Beaux-Arts de Paris, TAKAHASHI met ICHIKAWA, a painter specializing in traditional Japanese painting, in Paris, at the start of his career.Art student TAKAHASHI explains that it was with him that he was able to learn the basics of traditional Japanese painting, in which he had been interested since high school.TAKAHASHI learned line and composition in drawing through traditional Japanese painting, as well as shading and a sense of space. Like a boy learning to ride a horse, he set out to find his own expression.His surrealist paintings, which caught the eye of an art dealer at an exhibition held in Paris at the Beaux Arts at the time, marked his entry into the French art world.

Another attractive aspect of TAKAHASHI's work lies in his color paintings of geometric abstraction, which are not the product of composition and color, but rather the inevitable figurative expression that emerges from the development of landscape painting, as was the case for KANDINSKY in the past.“Those who are unaware of the patterns behind the inevitable figurative expression that emerged from the development of landscape painting will feel an aura of mystery, as if they can see something beyond the soft tones of color in front of these works.

The secret that allows the viewer to enter the painting without the tension and difficult feeling that one normally feels when looking at an abstract painting is that it is a representation of nature.In the course of his solitary struggle, TAKAHASHI may have turned his attention to the fundamental line of art, which is to give form to the invisible.So it was no coincidence that, as a Christian, he encountered David's poetry in the Psalms and was inspired by his poetic feeling to start creating.Numerous literary, musical and artistic works have been produced from the Bible in Western societies, but abstract paintings such as those presented by TAKAHASHI are extremely rare.King David's confession of faith in the God of Heaven in the desolate lands of Israel 3,000 years ago must have been full of frankness and expression.“Like the origins of art in Greek and Roman times, when art was born it was a hymn to God and an expression of apprehension of His person.” Poetry, song, dance, theater, art, sport and literature would not have been possible without the presence of the Transcendent. 

 “In France, Takahashi was conscious of his Japanese identity, and in Japan he felt that there was no place for him, but what he experienced during his 35 years living abroad is that the source of every creative act is a national feeling that comes from deep within the psyche.The questions of what art is, who I am, and what expression is, are themes worthy of a lifetime's work, and for Takahashi, who is halfway through his career as a professional painter, they are also worthy of pursuit for the rest of his life.”