Maiko Kobayashi: HOME | IN GALLERIES

AISHONANZUKA is honoured to announce “HOME”, a solo exhibition in Hong Kong by Japanese artist Maiko Kobayashi at our art space at LANDMARK Atrium. The show is on view from 19 April to 18 May, 2024.

“The more I get to know things in the world, the more often I feel helpless. But when I discover that human beings have that essential vitality that will never be lost under any circumstances, my heart fills with courage and hope. The ‘friction’ caused by this contradictory sensation is my motivation to paint.”

Kobayashi often paints dog or bunny-like creatures with soft features, clearly referred and inspired by real people that crossed the artist's path— and on the connections occurring between them and the empathy generated in their creator. Whimsical and cryptic at first glance, their eyes are always watching and ruminating what is happening in our world, with an omnipresent melancholy and deep, tense expression. These are said to express the conflicts, anxieties, hopes, and vitality of people living in the changing times and society.

Kobayashi’s paintings invites viewers to have a glimpse of the artist's inner world, also a meditative processing itself. You might not be able to absorb all the senses flooding through her work at first glance, and the comprehension could differ from each person. Sometimes her creatures are all recorded in a sobbing impression, but it could also be a state when the sadness has just passed. Viewers might feel empty when they look at Kobayashi's paintings at first glance, but then one would feel the peacefulness seething through after a long stare.