Profile

Born in Hyogo in 1981. In 2006, after completing a master's degree in oil painting at the Tokyo University of the Arts Graduate School of Fine Arts and Music, she began her creative work. Based out of studios in Kobe and California, she works and conducts exhibits both in Japan and abroad. Her recent solo exhibitions include "Hiroko NAKAKITA" (2021, Mizuma & Kips, New York), "Hiroko Nakakita" (2020, Shinseido Gallery, Tokyo), "Objectively" (2019, GALERIE ASHIYA SCHULE, Hyogo), "Blooming" (2018, GALLERY MAX, New York), and "Flowery colors" (2018, Hankyu Umeda Art Gallery). She has also participated in numerous group exhibitions and art fairs internationally and in Japan, such as "Sukikei - NEW VIEW: Contemporary Art in Japan" (2019, Hankyu Umeda), "Hanami" (2019, GINZA SIX), "River Art Fair 2018" (2018, Miami, USA), and "Art Fair Kyoto" (2013, Kyoto). Her works are in collections at Roppongi Hills Club, and Castle Hotel & Spa New York.

HIROKO NAKAKITA プロフィール画像
Photo:KAZUMI KURIGAMI

Statement

People live their lives in constant search of answers. We struggle to find ways to act that allow us to coexist with others, and to keep out actions cohesive. I have always envied and painted chandeliers, which have a bird's eye view of us humans and our lives, and of flowers, which are both ephemeral and bold when in bloom, and have short but rich lives.

Humans are creatures of emotion, which prevents us from living as extravagantly as flowers. But when we reach our emotional zenith, we let off liquids as we breath deeply or aspire. The dripping of my paint is much the same to me--it is something produced from the depths of my person. I let the unexpected strokes take me over, and discover new things as I add color to create pieces with souls of their own.

Overflowing emotion and silent invocations come and go as my emotions are replaced with color. I believe that true beauty appears when colors harmonize the intentional with the unintentional to create a world of the fantastic, and have brought this to my paintings.