Naoto Sunohara

Sunohara depicts mainly mountains and rocks based on his own experience on the spot, resonating his bodily rhythm through the brushworks. He applies such materials as sumi ink and mineral pigments on Japanese paper to reflect his inner space which synchronizes with the sensation acquired in fieldwork. Sunohara places himself among the peaks, unfolding their fluctuations in his panoramic oversights. He does not look up to summits as physical or psychological destinations, but lets his mind and body interact with them, as he ceaselessly wanders, without destination. When mountains are captured as closely as this, they combine action with the picture plane, making bodily perceptions possible.

Biography

- 1996　born in Nagano

- 2018　BA in Fine Arts, Japanese Painting Department, Tohoku University of Art & Design

- 2020　MFA in Fine Arts, Japanese Painting Department, Tohoku University of Art & Design

- 2020　Grantee of 2nd Kuma Foundation Creator Scholarship

Solo Exhibitions

- 2022　"Nature in Ourselves"　THE NORTH FACE Mountain& THE NORTH FACE Alter / Tokyo

- 2021 Fragments from Scaling Mountain / Art Front Gallery / Tokyo

- 2019 "Naoto Sunohara: Precipice-Live the Present" Art Front Gallery / Tokyo

- 2017　"TRIAL GALLERY 2017", Ina Culture Hall / Nagano

Group Exhibitions

- 2023　Shin Japanese Painting: Revolutionary Nihonga　Pola Museum / Hakone

- 2022　"Encounter of a Mountain and a Painter: A Spectacular View that Changed My Life"　MARUYAMA BANKA MEMORIAL MUSEUM / Nagano

- 2021　"The 8th Higashiyama Kai Memorial Nikkei Nihonga Award",The Ueno Royal Museum/ Tokyo

- 2021　"Metamorphosis", Gallery 82 / Nagano

- 2021　"VOCA2021(the Vision Of Contemporary Art) ", The Ueno Royal Museum/ Tokyo

- 2021　"Art Fair Tokyo 2021", Tokyo International Forum / Tokyo

- 2020 "TOHOKU CALLING"　by Tohoku University of Art and Design, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum / Tokyo

- 2018　“ART AWARD TOKYO MARUNOUCHI”Tokyo Station / Tokyo

- 2018　“TOHOKU CALLING” 3331 Arts Chiyoda / Tokyo

- 2018　"YAMAGATA BIENNALE" / Yamagata

- 2018　“The 4rd Sho Isamoto Japanese painting grand prize exhibition” Sekisho art museum / Shimane

- 2018　"HIJIORI light Project"Hijiori Onsen / Yamagata

- 2017　Sagae-shi art museum / Yamagata

- 2017　"Tohoku University of Art & Design, Graduation Research & Project Exhibition" / Yamagata and Tokyo