Maki Fine Arts is pleased to present Somewhere Here, Near There, Shoko Masunaga’s second solo exhibition held at the gallery. The exhibition will open on March 22 (Sat) and run until April 20 (Sun).
The fifteen or so new creations showcased at the exhibition are considered the descendant and development of the works from the artist’s 2023 solo show What Comes After the Beyond (Maki Fine Arts). The paintings, produced by peeling and folding fragments of paint “membranes” covering the canvas, can be described as formative. Paint fragments, freed from the confines of the support structure, make dynamic movements, capturing the moments where the front and back, and inside and outside, intersect while creating a tense surface. In the production phase, the pieces are not handled separately, but several of them are juxtaposed tightly. Their combined surface is painted across, then the pieces are rotated individually, joined again, and painted. The action is repeated, resulting in images (lines and color fields) that are partially connected, with traces of detached segments found on the surfaces of other pieces. Such continuous connection is what characterizes the series of works as a whole. Until now, Masunaga has created paintings by following a self-imposed rule of starting with lines and then applying colors. Some of the new works deliberately reverse this order and execute fresh gestures.

—

Shoko MASUNAGA
Born 1980 in Osaka, Japan. Her creative process originates from paintings and utilizes a variety of techniques. By focusing on the connections to the surrounding environment and space, her works become fluid and interchangeable.
Recent shows include Abstractions – from a certain point – (group, CADAN Yurakucho, 2024), Ginza Curator’s Room #005 Angel’s Perch (group, Shibunkaku Ginza, 2023), What Comes After the Beyond (solo, Maki Fine Arts, 2023), editing (solo, nidi Gallery,2022), replace (solo, LOKO Gallery, 2021).