Yuske Mu Raki

An artist based in Niseko, Hokkaido.

His work explores the connection between nature and humanity, aiming to awaken a sense of living in harmony with the natural world through abstract painting. During his time in California, a powerful encounter with a wolf—being accepted as family—led him to a profound realization of the vastness and deep love held within nature. Since then, painting has become an act of prayer, a way to reconnect with the rhythms of the earth. His bold and intuitive brushstrokes carry the quiet energy of life, resonating with the silence and strength of the natural world. Each painting is an attempt to rebuild the bridge between nature and humans—a series of quiet, heartfelt prayers.

Born and raised in the downtown neighborhoods of Tokyo, the artist left Nihon University College of Art in 2005 to pursue a path in music. Immersed in contemporary dance music, he developed a distinct expression as a DJ—primitive yet futuristic in vision.

In 2015, he relocated to Berlin. The following year, a six-month journey through California and Mexico brought a turning point. Living in a tent among ancient redwood forests and remote mountains, he encountered a wolf—an experience that awakened a profound spiritual vision and led him to abstract painting as a new form of expression.

After returning to Japan in 2017, he began to paint as a form of prayer—seeking to reconnect with the invisible threads linking humans, wild animals, and the disappearing natural world. This led to the birth of his ongoing series Disappeared Animals, which reflects a quiet but urgent response to ecological destruction and the silent vanishing of wild beings.

In 2025, he moved his creative base to the forests of Niseko, Hokkaido, to deepen his relationship with nature and focus more fully on his art. His works evoke landscapes of the spirit and the memory of the wild.

Exhibitions

• March 2023 – Solo Exhibition Disappeared Animals @ Cy Kamakura

• April 2025 – Duo Exhibition Futari-ten @ Medel Gallery Shu, Niseko

• May 2025 – Solo Exhibition Three Elements @ Medel Gallery Shu, Harajuku