Hishikatano

aaploit presents Hishikatano, a solo exhibition by Matsushita Midori, on view from December 1 through December 17, 2023.

Matsushita is enrolled in the Japanese painting program at Kyoto University of the Arts' graduate school. Working with traditional Japanese painting materials and techniques, she challenges herself to express the complex relationships between things and phenomena. Her work focuses on the interaction between nature and humans, the impermanence of existence, and inner conflict, binding these elements to the materials of Japanese painting.

She possesses a deep insight into the relationships between contrasting and juxtaposed elements, exploring their connections from her own perspective. Her creative process employs Japanese painting materials and techniques while seeking new forms of expression, aiming to suggest to the viewer the intersection of the material and the spiritual.

Tachikeburu draws its inspiration from poem eighty-seven of the Hyakunin Isshu by the monk Jakuren:

Murasame no / tsuyu mo mada hinu / maki no ha ni / kiri tachi noboru / aki no yūgure

On cypress leaves where drops from the passing shower have not yet dried, mist rises in the autumn dusk.

Matsushita uses fire in her production process. She applies flame to create smoke, seeking to reveal the relationship between the heat of fire and the flow of water. A swirling, water-like movement courses across the surface, enveloping the red at the center. The left side of the picture plane is pale, the right darker—evoking the flow of water. Within the central red, a particularly bright white is inserted, appearing to emit heat. The flame at the center and the water set in motion by its heat, the fluidity of water and the intensity of fire—all seem to circulate within the picture plane.

Rock appears permanent—from the span of a human life, it seems unchanging. On the relationship between rock and water, Matsushita says:

Rock is a marker, a boundary. It presents a form that seems eternal. Water changes its shape as it flows; even the same water is always transforming. Rock is exposed, worn, and pierced by water. Even rock, which appears eternal, undergoes transformation.

From a long perspective, even what seems eternal changes. Through her practice, Matsushita addresses the relationship and continuity—rather than opposition—between the permanent and the fluid, between people and unseen neighbors. This exhibition presents works from the Higan series and a series referencing the Hyakunin Isshu.

For inquiries regarding the exhibition and works, please contact info@aaploit.com.