Contemporary Japanese art has many bright representatives with unique signature styles and masterful fusions of traditional art techniques with contemporary trends and visions. One such Japanese creative is Masayoshi Nojo, an artist with an easily recognizable style that blends the authentic esthetics of Japan and innovative elements. A holder of the Sagawa Art Museum Eiichi Kuriwada Special Award, the Grand Prize of Art Bar 2013 Creation of Kyoto, and Tokyo Wonder Seed, among many other awards, Nojo is coming to London with his exhibition titled “Rest in Silver.”
A Closer Acquaintance with Masayoshi Nojo
Masayoshi Nojo was born in Kanagawa in 1989 and received a formal education in arts at Kyoto University of Art and Design. According to the artist, he developed an avid interest in collective memory during his studies, which led him to the exploration of innovative visual means for expressing the passage of time. Much of Nojo’s creative style is borrowed from the iconic persona of the Japanese art of the Edo Period – Ogata Kōrin, a bright representative of the Rinpa school of art.
The main theme of Masayoshi Nojo’s visual exploration is the intricate connection between memory and time. The artist often uses silver and graceful images of the natural world to offer his artistic interpretations of the ever-changing nature of time. To remove arbitrariness from his works and create more abstract images, Nojo disassembles and reconstructs his own photographs with metal foils. This unique visual technique of silver imagery presentation is aimed to evoke a sense of deja vu in the viewers and raise deeply seated memories from the subconscious.
“Rest in Silver,” Masayoshi Nojo’s Solo Exhibition at JD Malat Gallery
The 2024 solo exhibition of Masayoshi Nojo, “Rest in Silver,” which will open at JD Malat Gallery next week, features a series of Nojo’s well-known works, along with his latest series, Mirage. Most artworks in the collection are mixed-media pieces created with the help of multiple layering of marbled acrylic paint and silver and aluminum foil to render the artistic vision of transient memories.
“Rest in Silver” also features several works from Nojo’s Fricker series composed of enchanting three-dimensional landscapes. According to the artist, these artworks were created with the intention of rendering the symbolic passage of time from dawn to dusk with the help of his unique visual language.
Masayoshi Nojo’s solo exhibition will be on display at JD Malat Gallery in London from September 12 to October 5, 2024.