Unveiling the Stories that Shape My Art
I am thrilled to embark on this literary journey with you, sharing the stories that have profoundly shaped my creative path. These tales...
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BIO
Moeko MACHIDA is an Aichi (Japan)-born artist who creates paintings under the prominent theme: the nature of life. Placing herself amid all phenomena surrounding lives, she carefully observes and perceives phenomena, thus meticulously putting them into images.
Raised by biologist parents, she has been familiar with matters surrounding vitality and has had a strong perception of emotions since an early age. Consequently, she had gotten overwhelmed by the spirits of the dead and the invisible existences surrounding her. It was her expressionist self that found a way to face those presences that she could not detach herself from.
The ideas she nurtured in studying Japanese painting and Butoh dance also have influences on her artistry. While studying at the Kyoto City University of Arts, she learned the Japanese painting method that places emphasis on sketching, through which she acquired an attitude of taking time to face the subject matter with serenity. She also started dancing in her childhood and studied Butoh eagerly during college, which led her to apply the Butoh-derived idea of the body as being amid phenomena surrounding lives to her work.
The pebble-like round aggregates that frequently appear in her paintings mirror how something in life exists and evolves, representing not only the living but also the dead. Her ultimate goal in creation is to be aware of the ways our senses and perceptions are, and thus share them with others through her work.
She has participated in exhibitions, including solo shows, in Japan, Europe, and the San Francisco Bay Area, with her works now included in numerous private collections across these regions. She has also created sliding screen paintings for traditional Japanese houses and exhibited her work in hotels. In the spring of 2025, she begins a new creative journey based in Basel, Switzerland.
Statement
I visualize the invisible presence of life, revealing through painting the essential existence inherent in nature and living beings. Inspired by stones, plants, flowers, shadows, and water, I enter into a careful dialogue with these motifs through all my senses, allowing emotions and bodily memories arising from their presence to guide the composition and concept of each work.
My practice resonates with the East Asian painting concept of Qi Yun Sheng Dong (気韻生動), which seeks to evoke the life force inherent in natural forms onto the painting’s surface. I also place importance on traditional Japanese approaches to painting that honor the reality of each subject within its decorative quality. This allows the inherent presence of the motif to remain, while leaving space for diverse symbolism and open interpretation, inviting viewers to reflect deeply on life, death, and time.
The layered textures of Japanese mineral pigments and the tonal rhythms of color mirror the subtle movements of my breath, body, and spirit. This interplay imbues each painting with Qi—the vital energy of life—creating a poetic presence that resonates physically and emotionally with viewers.
While rooted in East Asian values and techniques, my work remains open to viewers from diverse backgrounds. By exploring emotions, memory, and the essence of being alive, my paintings connect to universal themes—such as the meaning of nature and existence—that humanity has long sought to understand. My works act as mirrors for viewers, awakening people’s dormant memories and emotions.
They exist not merely as visual decoration, but as “art that stays close,” accompanying life’s milestones and deepening in meaning over time.
私は、目に見えない「いのちの気配」を描くことによって、自然や生命がもつ本質的な存在感を、絵画というかたちで可視化しています。石、植物、花、影、水などの自然のモチーフに、身体感覚のすべてを傾けて向き合い、慎重に対話することで、作品の構図やコンセプトを導き出しています。
この表現の根底には、東洋絵画の美学である「気韻生動」──自然のモチーフに内在する生命の気配を感じ取り、それを絵画上に呼び込むという理念──への共鳴があります。
また、日本画の表現理念を受け継ぎ、描かれたモチーフの実在感を大切にしながらも、その象徴性にあえて余白を残す表現をしています。それにより「生」「死」「時間」といった私自身の根源的な問いを、抽象的に伝える画面作りをしています。
岩絵具の重なりやマチエールの質感、絵具の濃淡に現れるリズムは、私自身の呼吸や身体、精神の微細な動きと密接に連動しています。それらは絵画に生命の「気」を宿し、鑑賞者の身体や情動に共振する詩的装置として、作品に精神的な深度をもたらします。
私は、こうした東洋の美的価値観や手法を継承しながら、それらを現代美術の絵画表現として再構築することを試みています。
私の作品のメッセージは、日本画や東洋哲学の美意識を礎にしながらも、現代社会において特定の文化的枠組みにとらわれません。創作のテーマは、長い人類の歴史のなかで探求されてきた「生命の本質とは何か？」「人間とは何か？」といった、自然観や存在論と深く結びついており、さまざまな言語や文化的背景をもつ鑑賞者に開かれています。
私の作品は、抽象性や象徴性を孕みながら、鑑賞者の心の奥に眠る記憶や感情を呼び起こす、鏡のような存在でもあります。それゆえに、それらは視覚的なインテリアではなく、生活や人生の節目に寄り添い、時とともに意味を深めていく「寄り添うアート」として在り続けます。
『私が石ころを描き続ける理由』については以下に詳しくまとめております。
ぜひご覧くださいませ。
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