Exhibition overview
Keisuke Matsuda’s paintings are difficult to describe succinctly in words. One can point to the physicality and speed of his brushwork, the impression of color, and the sense of space created by areas left open, yet these elements do not answer the question of what is being depicted. They are neither lines nor planes, neither writing nor concrete forms. And yet, when asked, Matsuda does not describe his work as abstract. He says that he is “painting the world itself.”
To paint before what he sees becomes an image—it is difficult to know whether such a thing is possible, but Matsuda continues to pursue it. His lines do not represent fixed images, yet they carry no sense of falseness. Perhaps this is how the brush behaves when one turns inward and earnestly attempts to grasp the essence of the world. His works touch on painting, drawing, calligraphy, and other fields, whether intentionally or not, while slipping freely between them. At a time when we are surrounded by an excess of fabricated images, Matsuda’s work carries the anticipation that something new might emerge.
Artist Talk
October 13 (Mon., national holiday), 14:00–15:30
An artist talk will be held with art critic Minoru Shimizu, who has followed Matsuda’s work for many years, as our guest.