"I paint as I breathe". Mayu Kunihisa places herself in nature, sharpens her five senses, and sublimates all she embodies into her works.
Her lines draw graceful arcs, and colors appear as if they are bubbling up from the canvas. The lines and colors that dance on the canvas are full of spirituality and dynamism, responding to the vibrations of the artist's heart.
Kunihisa explores painting as a flat medium that can handle multiple dimensions as a spatial experience device. Her drawings, done in various ways through her physicality, are expressed as light falling on everyday scenes. She finds beauty and delicacy hidden in daily life.
The artist uses a unique technique called the "WIT-WIT*" series of paintings. They are two-dimensional paintings on rectangular canvases, using the human body as the axis and utilizing arm strokes and centrifugal force. The artist draws arcs with a brush on the axis of the human body to fill the flat surface. The act of painting with physical rhythmical movements layered with paint and time. She paints mindlessly without arbitrariness or intentionality "because it feels good. Her contemplative view of the painting world and her works transcend time and space, quietly and profoundly attracting the viewer.
Breathing, eating, and sleeping are the acts of living. For the painter Mayu Kunihisa, “To paint is to live. To live is to paint. To paint, she trains her body and mind and travels. All of these things feed her works.
We want to continue to watch the lines, works, and the way that Mayu Kunikyu, a painter who is earnest about painting, works.
* The name comes from "Vitruvian Drawing of the Human Body," a drawing by Leonardo da Vinci around 1485 - 1490 based on the descriptions in the "Treatise on Architecture" by the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius.
About the Artist
Born in Osaka, Kunihisa studied interior design and architecture. While she studied fashion, fine art, and installation in London, she was awakened to the spatial expression of painting when she saw a solo exhibition of Barnett Newman at the Tate Modern. It was the beginning of a full-fledged appreciation of painting.
After returning to Japan, she began painting in Kobe and studied art engineering. This diverse background has allowed her to deeply examine the relationship between the body, matter, and natural engineering.
Educational Background
1999 Graduated from Osaka Municipal Kogei High School, Interior Design Course
2000 Completed Pattern Making Course, Osaka Mode Gakuen Night School
2003 Completed University of the Arts London Central Saint Martins Art and Design Foundation course
2010 Graduated from Kobe Design University Faculty of Art and Design
2012 Completed Master's program in Integrated Arts, Graduate School of Art and Design, Kobe Design University
2015 Completed Doctoral program in Art and Design, Graduate School of Art and Design, Kobe Design University
Awards
2022 Sakiya Konohana Award, Fine Arts Category
2020 Young Creators Award 2020 Grand Prix
2020 "ubisum by ubies" Asian Review Tournament Benny Au Prize
2018 The 22nd Taro Okamoto Award for Contemporary Art, Special Prize
2018 47th International AU Exhibition of Contemporary Art TIVOLI Award
2017 UNKNOWN ASIA Jury Ryoichi Matsuo Award, Reviewer Mugi Nakajima Award, Reviewer Yasuhito Mimura Award
2017 KOBE ART MARCHE Artist Meets Gallery, Selected Prize
2010 Kobe Design University Graduation Exhibition "Chaos," Encouragement Prize
2007 Serendip Competition, Kobe Design University, Grand Prix
Public Collection
Museo dell'altro e dall'altrove di Metropoliz, Rome
Higashi-Osaka Eiwa Library
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