Marie Gallery is pleased to present a solo exhibition by Hiroshi Matsuyama.

Hiroshi Matsuyama investigates two different relationships in his work. The one relationship involves color and form, and the other is the relation and the space in which his work is set.
Color is a vital element of Matsuyama’s work. His colors are decided intuitively before he starts the work. When Matsuyama first started exhibiting his works he used few colors, but with every exhibition the colors gradually increased. At one point he realized that he was using only one color, black. As the next step, he painted his images on a black ground. However, in order to paint, it was necessary to leave a brush stroke. Finally he stopped drawing as a means of expressing his feelings.

After color, form is the second essential in Matsuyama's work. From early on his career, he had wanted to depict simple forms on flat surfaces, but, following his break from painting, he began to include three-dimensional forms. At first, to do away with squares and circles, he painted works in acrylic to show the relation between colors and images. However, to emphasize a material character. he changed his stance and painted directly on the wall with colors from tubes of oil paint. The accidentally created form is not a reflection of Matsuyama's feelings, but merely appears as a characteristic of the thing itself. Besides, a strong image of the material form remains, catching another image that is different from the color.

In addition to the pictorial qualities we have seen thus far, the works in the current exhibition present images of colors and forms as more three-dimensional structures. For this reason the simple and straight-forward pictures and forms give us the chance to rethink the pleasure around them and us, as well. The gallery space is totally different to daily life, and in this environment, Matsuyama’s works are set apart. When the viewers face his works in this state of tension, it provides something that they have never realized due to the margin of the space.


For further information please check the artist's official website
and contact the gallery at
info@mariegallery.com