Kunpei Yoshikawa (b. 1998, Kanagawa, Japan) studied Japanese painting at Tokyo University of the Arts and completed a master’s degree at the same university. Working with mineral pigments and washi paper, traditional materials of Japanese painting, alongside ink and painting mediums, Yoshikawa develops a mixed-media practice. His work begins with an attentiveness to change encountered in nature and during his travels: shifting light, the presence of air, and fragments of sensations that resist words. Rather than reproducing a subject as it appears, he seeks to hold the lingering impressions of perception within the painting. Layers of colour merge and resist one another, creating a fluid visual experience. Without settling into clear outlines, these abstract forms resonate with the viewer’s memories and senses, conveying a quiet sense of presence. Artist Statement I work in mixed media, combining mineral pigments and washi paper—the materials of Japanese painting—with ink and painting mediums. My practice begins with fragments of sensation that arise when I encounter fleeting phenomena in nature or while travelling: the passage of time, colours changing with it, and the distinctive atmosphere of the natural world. My motifs move between plants, landscapes, and abstraction; I do not remain attached to any particular subject. What matters is not the subject itself, but the perception and lingering impression that arise from encountering it. For me, a work is a medium through which to touch sensation itself, rather than an element that completes a form. Layers of colour affect one another, sometimes becoming clouded or unsettled, remaining in a state that is never fixed. I feel that it is precisely within this instability that a tangible sense of existence resides. Through the relationship between materials and colour, I seek to make visible sensations and perceptions that cannot be resolved into clear outlines. Kunpei Yoshikawa