エロースからアガペーへ
佐々木吉晴
（いわき市立美術館長／宇都宮美術館長）
２１世紀に入ってから、すなわち４０歳代になってからこの１０数年間の湯川の活躍には目を見張るものがある。
大きな転機は２００１～０２年にかけてのイタリア留学であろう。多くの留学経験者が口にすることだが、意外なことに今日のイタリアでは具象彫刻に取り組む者が少ない。それゆえ舟越保武のもとでしっかりとした塑像の基礎を学んだ湯川は、おそらく本人が期待した以上に敬意をもって迎えられ、実りの多い充実した留学になった。
実りのひとつは具象表現についてゆるぎない確信を持てたこと。またひとつは、同地ピエトラサンタで石彫の技術を身に着けたこと。そして最後に、同地でコロンビア出身の若き抽象彫刻家グスタボ・べレスの知己をえたことである。
その後彼はテラコッタ塑像と木彫を組み合わせる独自な具象表現に取り組む。湯川は家業の関係でさまざまな木材に触れて成長した。従って彼にとって、木はテラコッタ以上になじみ深いものである。けれども今彼が取り組みかたちにする木の彫りと表面の仕上げや全体は、なじみ深いはずの日本の伝統的な木彫ではなく、むしろ西洋的な石彫の手法がより強く反映されている。おそらくは土屋誠一氏（美術批評／沖縄県立芸術大学准教授）が指摘するように、素材主義に陥らずにテラコッタと木との一体感を出すには、木の素材感を前面に出す日本式ではなくむしろそれを抑える西洋式の手法が適切だったに違いない。
またもうひとつの実り、べレスとの交友が縁となって、湯川はほぼ毎年、コロンビアを中心にパナマ、キューバなど中南米各地に数か月滞在して制作、相次いで数多くの展覧会に招待され、一部はそのまま同地の美術館コレクションに収められた。加えてそうした国際的な活動を通して韓国との関係も生まれ、２００９年以降は日本（東京、いわきなど）とソウルの双方でたびたびグループ交流展を彼が中心となって開催、さらに２年前からは台湾で学生を指導しながら制作、今年は新たにシンガポールの展覧会にも招待を受けるなど、活動はますます広範囲になっている。
土屋氏はまた、湯川の論評（沖縄タイムス２０１７年９月２０日）の中で、かたちの奥にある「魂」について触れている。これは近年ますます顕著になっている湯川の特徴であろう。１０年ほど前、わたしは肉体（かたち）から発して精神を想起させるそうした彼のありようを、「アガペーの皮膚で包み込まれた内側から滲み出てくるエロース」と評した。誤解のないように記しておく。ここでいうエロースとは神話画に出てくるかわいらしいクピドではない。エロースはすべての始まりのときにカオスなどとともにガエアから生まれ、生存と繁栄を促す始原の存在を意味する。対してアガペーは、肉欲を超克した精神的な愛を指す。わたしは当時、彼の清浄なアガペー的作品の内側に、おのずと滲み出てわたしたちの本能をゆさぶるエロースを強く感じていた。
１０年を経た今、より高度に洗練された技法と様式を確立した湯川の表現において、エロースとアガペーの長年にわたる葛藤は、アガペーが勝利を収めつつあるように見える。だがその見方は皮相に過ぎるかもしれない。葛藤は本当に終焉したのだろうか。わたしには、まだかたちの奥の深いところでエロースが熾火のようにくすぶり、いつの日かまた立ち現われてくるように思われてならないし、またひそかに期待もしている。なぜなら湯川の表現は、理想と現実、聖性と俗性、彫刻的に言えばかたちと精神の間でゆれる、人間くさい葛藤もその大きな魅力のひとつなのだから。
Eros to Agape
Since the beginning of the 21st century, which corresponded with his 40th birthday, Yukawa has been demonstrating his extraordinary artistic talent.
His turning point had arrived during his experience of studying abroad in Italy from 2001 to 2002. Most people who studied abroad in Italy mentioned that many artists in Italy no longer create figurative styled sculptures in nowadays. Since Yukawa’s art was made outstanding by studying curving under Professor Yasutake Funakoshi, people who he met greatly appreciated how sophisticated his knowledge and technique for art were.
In Pietrasanta, Italy, Yukawa was fortunate to gain his confidence in his own figurative style, and mastered a technique of stone curving. In addition to that, he encountered Gustavo Velez, a young Colombian abstract sculptor, who began their longtime friendship.
Afterwards, Yukawa originated to combine terra-cotta and wooden sculptures in order to express his own style of figurative art. Since his family worked with wood, his childhood was surrounded by multiple types of woods. Just like that, his childhood memory led him familiar with wood more than terra-cotta. However, his recent art style of how he engraves wood and proceeds its surface, reflected western stone curving style rather than Japanese traditional wooden sculpture style. Perhaps, as Seiichi Tsuchiya, an art critic, an associate professor, and Okinawa Prefectural University of Arts, pointed out; In order to express the sense of unity of terra-cotta and wood with avoiding the materialism, the technique of how the Western style controls wooden texture must be appropriate rather than how the Japanese style focuses on showing the wooden texture.
Owing to his friendship with Gustavo Velez, Yukawa has visited several places in the Central and the South America yearly, such as Colombia, Panama and Cuba. During his few months of stays in those countries, he worked intensively to create his arts and was invited to numerous exhibitions. Some of his personal collection were given to the museums in the local area. Leading by Yukawa’s international works, he made a strong relationship with Korea. Since 2009, Yukawa and his friends have been a host of the international sculpture exchange exhibitions in both Japan (Tokyo and Iwaki city) and Soul, Korea. In Taiwan, he teaches students there and also creates his work from two years ago. He was invited to Singapore in this year to exhibit the work as well. All of these steps help him reach out to the new breakthrough internationally.
On the other hand, Mr. Tsuchiya in his critical article in The Okinawa Times, touched the “spirit” inside Yukawa’s creation. This idea of “spirit” would characterize what Yukawa has been expressed in his works in the recent years. 10 years ago, I claimed Yukawa’s artistic style as what brings the spirit to one’s mind from the physical state; in other word, “Eros, which oozes from its internal, if it is covered with Agape’s skin”. To clear my idea out, Eros, which I stated above does not mean a charming figure of Cupid, which is often shown in mythical paintings. Eros was born from Gaea with the others such as Chaos during the great creation of the world. It represents a presence of Primeval that promotes survival and prosperity. On the other hand, Agape refers to love that is spiritual in nature distinct from carnal desire or simple affection. When I met his art works, I sensed Eros which has been strongly stimulating my instinct within his sophisticated works based on Agape love.
After 10 years, Yukawa’s prominent technique and style now seem to feature with Agape love after coexisting Eros and Agape in his works. However, that didn’t get the point about his works. Did he actually end conflict between Eros and Agape? For me, Eros is still potentially lurking at the core bottom of his work, and I have a hope that one day it will appear. That is because what makes Yukawa’s art to be attractive is humane conflict in his works, such as idealism and realism and sacred and profane.
Director of Iwaki City Art Museum and Utsunomiya Art Museum
Yoshiharu Sasaki