I was drawn to the oil paintings by Mariko Matsushita 松下まり子, another young Japanese artist whose work resonated with me. She uses thick, spontaneous brush strokes in red, purple and flesh tones. Sensuality, death and memory seem to emanate from the blurred, undefined faces and often gender-less bodies of her portraits. Quite riveting at times.
I spoke briefly to Ken-ichi Nakahashi, the director of the small gallery in the shinjuku area. He will be attending my show next week.
