Yu Nishimura’s artistic practice defies traditional boundaries, reimagining figuration as a poetry far beyond the mere depiction. His work delves into the essence of memory and perception. His approach is not just about representation — it’s about transformation. A dog is never just a dog, a cat is never just a cat; they become vessels of emotion and experience.  His paintings, drawn from fragments of memory, depict figures moving through hazy, transient spaces, their expressions subdued in quiet introspection. Their delicate, wispy outlines evoke the aesthetic sensibilities of anime, emphasizing sharp silhouettes over intricate details. Speaking to this approach, Nishimura has remarked, “I want to capture the actuality of people and objects by depicting their outer forms by rendering it like silhouettes.” Through fluid brushstrokes and delicate layering, Nishimura dissolves the barriers between figure and environment, creating immersive compositions where subjects seem to drift between the tangible and the ephemeral. Born in Kanagawa, Japan, Nishimura’s work often foregrounds Japanese identity, a theme evident in his deep engagement with the legacy of Japanese street photography. He draws inspiration from Daidō Moriyama, Takuma Nakahira, and other Provoke-era photographers, whose rough, blurred, and out-of-focus aesthetic challenged traditional composition. “My reference, influence, inspirations come from the snapshots of Daidō Moriyama and Takuma Nakahira,” he has explained. He was especially drawn to how these photographs captured moments without the overt presence of the photographer. “I get the impression that you just came across to the scene without the presence of the photographer. If this were reality, we would not gaze at them so attentively. People try to look at them carefully only when they are depicted in a painting or photograph.” Nishimura translates this photographic sensibility into his paintings, where blurring, layering, and translucency mimic memory—some moments sharp and distinct, others dissolving at the edges. His figures, often appearing suspended in time, hover between movement and stillness, capturing the fleeting, impermanent nature of modern life. Although deeply influenced by photography, Nishimura’s artistic journey has always been rooted in painting. “I have always been drawing, since I was little,” he recalled. “Even though there was a time when I was away from painting, my family thought I would become a painter. My father was also a painter. So in that sense, I could say that I was a painter from the beginning.” His engagement with photography came later, after leaving school, when he began exploring Japanese landscapes through the lens of photography. It was in these images that he found an unexpected sense of nostalgia. “I became interested in the Japanese landscapes that were taken by Japanese photographers,” he reflected. While painters taught him technique, he sought answers to deeper questions: “Although I could learn enough about technique from painters, as an artist, I was trying to find the answer to the fundamental question of what and how to paint in a few photographers.” This connection between past and present resonated deeply with him. “I felt a sense of nostalgia and deja vu, even though the photographs were taken long before I was born. I wanted to capture this sense in painting.”  However, unlike photography, painting exists in a state of flux — both in its process and in its subject matter. “The subject itself always lies in a state of change in the accumulation of time and in the act of painting,” he explains. Over time, he has come to see transformation as an inherent part of his practice. “I have come to believe that it is natural to make paintings of this change and my own change with the subject.”

Kayoko Yuki Gallery, Tokyo Acquired from the above by the present owner