Akiko Kuniyoshi

Statement

Since I was in university, I have been painting for more than 20 years. I get a sharp movement of my mind like intuition from ordinary things, transform the image in my brain based on my own experience and aesthetic sense, attempt to sketch it on paper, and reconstruct it on canvas. At first glance, the viewer may not know what the content is at all, but the title will provide a hint. These actions may be formats that have already been done to death in terms of art history, but I consider them to be ubiquitous. Furthermore, although my origins are in Japan, it is difficult to find anything Japanese in my work. I experiment with producing paintings that are hard for the viewer to determine the nationality or roots of the artist when they are confronted with my work.

GlogauAIR Project

The year before last (January to December 2022), I stayed at the Cite internationale des arts in Paris. The reason I wanted to stay there was that I was a painter living in the present day, and I wanted to learn about the origins of modern art. French abstract painting, which places importance on the visual beauty of sculptured objects, changed my sensibilities in composing paintings. Moreover, in unraveling the history of abstract painting, I found that World War II had a significant impact. Abstract expressionism that spread throughout the world with America at its center after the war owes much to the achievements of Kandinsky, who was forced to flee Germany by the Nazis and sought refuge in Paris. I realized that two types of paintings existed: emotionally charged French abstract painting, which surfaced from modern painting, and German abstract painting, in which the mind is represented by dots and lines. In addition, I assumed that these ideas were introduced to Japan by way of the United States. For me, a comprehensive study of this chain of events is indispensable.

Through my stay at GlogauAIR, my objective was to gain assurance of the deeper connections between painting and spirit, to develop into an artist who can logically convey these connections to the viewer, and also to become an artist who can compete in the context of the European standard of art in the future.

CV Summary

• 1997-2001 JOSHIBI UNIVERSITY OF ART AND DESIGNE
• Department / oil painting
• Jan-Dec 2022 Artist in Residence at Cité internationale des arts (Paris)

Gallery