L'éternité - A Conversation with Yukimasa Ida

Born and raised in the idyllic seaside town of Tottori in southwest Japan, the Millennial painter is perhaps best known as the message-bearer of the Zen-influenced Japanese philosophy of “ichi-go ichi-e”, which originated in the island nation’s elaborate tea ceremony. Literally meaning “a once-in-a-lifetime moment”, the four-character idiom encapsulates the transience of life, and hence the importance of cherishing the unrepeatable nature of a fleeting moment, for it never comes around twice. Ida’s distinctive style has its roots in his hometown of “ocean, mountain, and rivers”, while his artistic outlook was further informed by a horizon-widening trip to the Indian subcontinent, as well as the loss of close friends and family members. He trained himself to draw quickly, at once disassociating and reappropriating traditional painting techniques. With a spatula or his bare hands, Ida stretches paste on the surface to capture the moment, the ephemeral. In so doing, he intentionally leaves the subject-matter, background, and indeed composition in the limbo between completion and incompletion. Ida crystallises the moment by distorting forms and figuration, for memory has no form other than fluidity. Exhibiting rich impasto and flurries of vibrant colours, this burgeoning young artist’s paintings are vivid snapshots in time.