Toshihisa Yoda: Triangles

The year was 1967.  It was the year I moved to New York from Japan. The first major burst of inspiration came to me on the top of The Empire State Building. I noticed a large triangular rooftop. It was the Flatiron Building.  Even at that time, I knew that the shape of the triangular rooftop was very special and beautiful. Since that day, I have used triangular shapes on and off in my paintings as well as in sculptures. Over the years, I have been drawn to the Flatiron Building and have visited it quite often. At first, I was a figurative painter, but I was somewhat surprised at how smoothly I made the transition to abstract painting. I think it was the magic of New York City. In the early 1980’s when Neo Expressionism swept the art world, many abstract painters changed their style to figurative painting, including well known artists. During that time, I had never regretted being an abstract painter. I have always painted what I wanted to paint, and that is how my paintings became the way they are today. Several years ago, I found a group of plants called Yellow Nutsedge in an empty lot in Coney Island. Actually, it was more like a wasteland where the Thunderbolt Rollercoaster had once stood.  I noticed that the stem of Yellow Nutsedge had a triangular shape after cutting it. I was intrigued by the tiny green triangles. It made me remember that burst of excitement when I saw the rooftop of the Flatiron Building so many years ago. Since then, I have been working exclusively with triangles and have made hundreds of paintings, large and small. Two years ago, I found new materials to work with which encouraged me to continue making abstract works using triangles, but in a new three-dimensional format. I discovered thin copper wire that I pulled out of used electrical wires. Then, I created installations by combining the copper wires and papier mache to make new versions of the triangles.