We are pleased to announce Midori Matsushita’s solo exhibition “彼此方の” – This Way and That Way – at aaploit from December 1st. (Fri.) to December 17th. (Sun.).

Matsushita is a graduate student at Kyoto University of Art, where she is currently working in the field of Japanese-style painting. She is challenging herself to express the complex relationships between objects and things, while making full use of traditional Japanese painting materials and techniques. Matsushita’s work focuses on the interaction between nature and human, the impermanence of existence, and inner conflicts, and combines these elements with the materials of Japanese painting.

She has a deep insight into the relationships between different elements that are contrasted and juxtaposed, and explores their connections from a unique perspective. Matsushita’s works combine the traditions and creativity of Japanese painting to depict a dialogue between matter and spirit, the external world and the internal world. The process of creating her works is based on the materials and techniques of Japanese painting, while at the same time exploring new forms of expression.

“Tachikeburu” was inspired by the 87th poem of the Hyakunin Isshu by Jakuren Houshi.

Dewdrops on cedar leaves at dusk in autumn, when the heavy rain has not yet stopped.

The inspiration for this work came from the mist rising on the leaves after the passing of a shower of rain. Matsushita uses fire in the creation of her works, she attempts to show the relationship between the heat of the fire and the flow of water.

The water-like movement that swirls through the painting surrounds the red color in the center of the painting. The left hand side of the painting is lighter and the right hand side is darker, evoking the flow of water. The red in the center is punctuated by a bright white, which seems to emit heat. The flame in the center and the water moved by the heat, the heat of the flame and the fluidity of the water, seem to be circulating in the picture.

The rock is a permanent object, and from the perspective of a person’s life, it appears to be unchanging, but Matsushita describes the relationship between the rock and water as follows.

A rock is a beacon, a boundary, a figure that seems eternal. Water flows through it, changing its form, and even though it is the same water, it will always be changing. The rock is exposed, chipped, and pierced by the water. The rock, which seems eternal, is also transformed.

From a long-term perspective, existence, which seems eternal, also changes. Through her works, Matsushita demonstrates the relationship and continuity between universal and fluid objects, people and their invisible neighbors, and relationships that are not antagonistic. This exhibition will feature the Higan series and a series of references from the Hyakunin Isshu, a collection of 100 poems. We hope you will take this opportunity to view Matsushita’s solo exhibition.

Dates: Friday, December 1, 2023 – Sunday, December 17, 2023
Opening hours: Fri: 15:00 – 19:00, Sat: 13:00 – 19:00, Sun: 13:00 – 17:00
Venue: Contemporary Art aaploit 2-19-2 Suido, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo
Admission free
Web: https://en.aaploit.com/midori-matsushita_hishikatano
Please make a reservation for other days during the exhibition period.