Exhibition Announcement
aaploit is pleased to present “Es weilt im Inneren / It dwells within,” a solo exhibition by Masaki Hagino (萩野 真輝), running from Friday, September 12 through Sunday, September 28, 2025.
Masaki Hagino has dedicated his artistic practice to capturing the subjective spaces constructed by our minds through painting. His “multilayer perspective” technique does not simply mirror the external world, but attempts to realize as painting the perceptual processes occurring within us—the subjective spatial recognition happening in our brains.
In the early 15th century, the Florentine sculptor and architect Brunelleschi systematized single-point perspective, which subsequently became the standard for “objective” spatial representation in Western painting. However, our actual perception does not follow such geometrical order. Hagino’s exploration confronts this discrepancy head-on, attempting instead to reframe subjective perception itself as “realism”—a paradoxical endeavor.
Exhibition Concept
The title “Es weilt im Inneren / It dwells within” symbolizes Hagino’s dual perspective as he travels between Germany and Japan. The German verb “weilen” (to dwell temporarily, to reside) indicates the workings of perception that constantly exist within us, though usually remain unconscious.
Edmund Husserl advocated for temporarily suspending (epoché) our naive belief in the objective world, examining instead how consciousness itself establishes phenomena. Hagino’s paintings likewise bracket the reproduction of the external world, attempting to capture the very perception occurring within us. White forms that appear both square and triangular—this is the perceptual fluctuation generated by Hagino’s multilayer perspective. Transparent layers of color represent something in the process of formation, attempting to take shape as space. These function as “internal realism,” speaking directly to our consciousness.
Works and Spatial Experience
At aaploit, where natural light streams in, Hagino’s paintings will change their expression throughout the day. This transformation also reflects the movements of perception constantly being updated within us. We invite visitors to temporarily bracket predetermined judgments such as “this is landscape” or “that is form,” and encounter what dwells within yourself.
¹ Edmund Husserl. Translated by Watanabe Jiro. Ideas I—General Introduction to Pure Phenomenology. Misuzu Shobo. 1979.
About the Artist
Masaki Hagino / 萩野 真輝
Born in Aichi Prefecture in 1987. Completed his master’s degree at Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design Halle, Germany in 2019. Working under the theme “Internal Realistic Expression—Subjective Perception and Multilayer Perspective,” he explores subjective spatial recognition in the brain through painting. While critically inheriting the problematics of perspective in Western painting history, he attempts to construct a new concept of “realism” of internal perception. Through works that show different expressions depending on the changing light and viewpoint, he simultaneously presents both the individuality and universality of perceptual experience.
Director’s Note
“Es weilt im Inneren / It dwells within”—this title quietly yet precisely captures the essence of Hagino’s practice.
The “epoché” that Husserl advocated—a return to pure consciousness through suspension of judgment. Hagino’s paintings practice this philosophical attitude visually. By temporarily suspending predetermined judgments of “this is such-and-such,” something becomes visible for the first time.
We usually don’t consciously think about how we see the world. But when standing before Hagino’s paintings, we suddenly become aware of the perceptual processes occurring within ourselves. These are things that are always there, yet usually remain hidden.
The German word “weilen,” with its nuance of dwelling that includes temporal duration, seems to express the very experience of Hagino’s paintings. Even if the time spent before the work is brief, that experience will continue to dwell within us for a long time.
In the space of aaploit, please take time to slowly encounter what dwells within yourself.
Exhibition Details
Es weilt im Inneren / It dwells within
Artist: Masaki Hagino
Dates: September 12 (Friday) – September 28 (Sunday), 2025
Hours: Friday, Saturday, Sunday 13:00-18:00
*Private appointments available on weekdays
Venue: aaploit
TMK Building 2F, 1-21-17 Sekiguchi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo
Web: https://en.aaploit.com/masaki-hagino-es_weilt_im_inneren
Inquiries: info@aaploit.com