Education
2011 Setsu Mode Seminar Graduate School Graduation
2004 Graduated from Tokyo Zokei University, Department of Design, Department of Dyeing
Key clients/collaborations
Louis Vuitton
Alflex Japan
BBC (UK)
Stanford University (USA)
ARTIST STATEMENTS
My work is an attempt to rediscover the pure act of “seeing” through a method called abstraction. By removing stories, depth, and clear references, we are making colors and shapes exist not as symbols of something, but by their own power. It does not lead viewers to a specific meaning.
The source of inspiration is the way young children look at the world for the first time before things are named. At that stage, colors and shapes are perceived as a sense of freedom and openness. Through my production, I want to return to such an intuitive and direct field of perception.
The studio dares to eliminate familiar appearances and narrative elements. This is because by doing so, you can focus deeply on how colors and shapes resonate with each other. Through this process, the painting transforms into a place where form, color, and energy vividly intersect.
My paintings aren't meant to express anything specific. It's like a single “blank space.” A place for viewers to suddenly stop, watch without preconceptions, and connect with their own senses, emotions, and memories. I hope people can once again feel the very feeling of “seeing” through drawing. There, the experience of feeling colors and shapes as they are before knowledge or logic is born.
story
After retiring as a web designer for an apparel company (Listair), he traveled to Southeast Asia as a backpacker. After returning to Japan, he decided to make a living from painting and attended the Setsu Mode seminar night course while working as a temporary employee during the day. While experiencing three periods of unemployment, including his first retirement, he gradually acquired a job as an illustrator. Artwork, which was created in parallel with illustrations in 2014, received praise at overseas online galleries and began to be sold mainly in America and Europe, and in recent years he has been active as an artist. Domestic activities are also expanding, starting with a solo exhibition at Arflex Tamagawa in 2020.
