Profile

Akiko Nagamatsu

Born in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan.

Stay Illinois, US in 1975-76 with AFS Scholarship.
Graduated from Department of Sculpture of Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music.
Completed Doctorate Degree in the Postgraduate Course of Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music.

Biography

AWARDS

Japan’s Paintings 2012 (Superior Prize) , Gallery Nagai , 2012
Selection in “What is Drawing” contest , Galerie SIMON , 2014

Theme

We have lived in harmony with nature since ancient times.

Plants generate oxygen into the atmosphere and at the same time defend the Earth from the peril of the universe, changing threat to benefits. While receiving sunlight and water, plants also protect the water, nourish and receive from the soil, and have been the foundation of the food chain that supports all lives.

Under the atmosphere which plants have created – this ephemeral sky wrapped in blue thin film – various elements circulate, and all forms of life repeat creation and annihilation:

The earth, a floating planet in the universe.

Air, light, water, soil, plants. All lives are supported, guarded by these elements, circulating life.

My theme is always about this one sustained world.

I think of the forest while drawing the stars. I think of the birth and death of one life while drawing a single leaf.

I feel a great wonder that one tiny seed contains all life.

As a Japanese

When I stayed in the United States for one year in high school, I was strongly aware of my identity as a Japanese.

Later in university while studying architecture, I was greatly intrigued by the fusion of “uchi (inside)” and “soto (outside)” which is a particular aspect of Japanese architecture. Not only in architecture, Japan has a very unique sense of beauty.

Japan is a country rich in water. The air constantly contains moisture, dimming scenes far away.

Air, wind, and moisture, or “ku (emptiness)”, “ki (atmosphere)”, and “ma (space)” – the expression of these invisible substances is one of the unique aesthetics of Japan.

I grew up among this climate and temperament, and this sense definitely exists in me.

Expressing space is the most important part to me. I express space as layers of air containing moisture. I use a variety of transparent and semi-transparent paints and opaque white to express space as deeper and deeper layers of the atmosphere.

What I learned from Studying Architecture

Architecture is the pursuit of forming your thoughts and feelings around naked earth, while being given a variety of conditions.

As a student of architecture at the Tokyo University of Fine Arts and Music, I was trained to construct my thoughts around “what are you thinking,” “what do you want to do,” and “what kind of concept do you have?”

For this reason, I am not interested in simply taking in the sight in front of me. I am more fascinated with creating my own form of thoughts or feelings around a theme on the blank canvas.

What you are thinking is basic to creating a work of art.

Techniques

I studied under Kimio Kawaguchi, painter, learning a mixing technique using oil and tempera, which was born during the Renaissance. The characteristic of this technique is to think in terms of cross-sections. Superimposing several thin layers of paint generates more profound and complex colors.

The beauty and transparency of oil paint combined with tempera creates a rich, deep expression that always fascinates me.