REPORT
Yukimasa Ida is one of the Japanese painters attracting a great deal of attention at the moment. While studying in the Tokyo University of the Arts, he received a lot of praise for the work he exhibited, which evidenced outstanding painterly skill and sense of color. At a collaboration auction with the singer and art collector Jay Chou, held at Sotheby’s Hong Kong in June this year, Ida’s work was one of the core pieces, and the successful bid was far higher than the expected price. The world’s art market gazes passionately at this 31 years-old artist, and there are many collectors around the world who adore his work.
Ida says that his interest in art was stimulated by his father, who was also an artist. According to Ida, “when I was misbehaving, my father recommended painting rather than doing nothing, and doing that I came to be drawn to the profundity of painting, and to aim to become an artist. The influence of my father’s best friend Robert Sindorf was crucial, too. When I decided to follow the path of becoming an artist he was very happy for me. Although he has passed away, I cannot ignore the fact that wanting to give him good news about myself is one of the goals that has supported me.”
The paintings Ida is best known for are his Portrait series, which utilizes people he is close to as well as famous people for motifs, and his End of Today series, which depicts scenes from his mind and anonymous people that he encounters. Asked about the fact that portraits make up a significant proportion of his work, Ida speaks about “longing towards people.” He explains, “during my childhood and adolescence I had many experiences with people that made me feel uncomfortable. It was people that caused me trouble, but it was also people who saved me. So, in my heart I have an urgent desire to affirm myself, and to love and converse with other people.
The event that triggered the start of Portrait was a trip to India when he was studying at university. “I was forced to face the figures of people from different situations than I had come from – like beggars. There are terribly poor people and incredibly rich people in the same place. I was shocked by the chaos of such diverse circumstances existing in parallel, and I decided to paint the people I met. I began with my family, or Robert Sindorf and others who were important to me. I pursue the theme of ICHI-GO ICHI-E(a once-in-a-lifetime encounter), which comprehensively includes life and death, the human life cycle, and the emotions that I feel when I encounter someone. The portrait as a motif fits with this theme, and with my own discomfort regarding people. I think that is why I keep painting them, and why I will continue to do so.”
Ida says that his interest in art was stimulated by his father, who was also an artist. According to Ida, “when I was misbehaving, my father recommended painting rather than doing nothing, and doing that I came to be drawn to the profundity of painting, and to aim to become an artist. The influence of my father’s best friend Robert Sindorf was crucial, too. When I decided to follow the path of becoming an artist he was very happy for me. Although he has passed away, I cannot ignore the fact that wanting to give him good news about myself is one of the goals that has supported me.”
The paintings Ida is best known for are his Portrait series, which utilizes people he is close to as well as famous people for motifs, and his End of Today series, which depicts scenes from his mind and anonymous people that he encounters. Asked about the fact that portraits make up a significant proportion of his work, Ida speaks about “longing towards people.” He explains, “during my childhood and adolescence I had many experiences with people that made me feel uncomfortable. It was people that caused me trouble, but it was also people who saved me. So, in my heart I have an urgent desire to affirm myself, and to love and converse with other people.
The event that triggered the start of Portrait was a trip to India when he was studying at university. “I was forced to face the figures of people from different situations than I had come from – like beggars. There are terribly poor people and incredibly rich people in the same place. I was shocked by the chaos of such diverse circumstances existing in parallel, and I decided to paint the people I met. I began with my family, or Robert Sindorf and others who were important to me. I pursue the theme of ICHI-GO ICHI-E(a once-in-a-lifetime encounter), which comprehensively includes life and death, the human life cycle, and the emotions that I feel when I encounter someone. The portrait as a motif fits with this theme, and with my own discomfort regarding people. I think that is why I keep painting them, and why I will continue to do so.”
Yukimasa Ida is one of the Japanese painters attracting a great deal of attention at the moment. While studying in the Tokyo University of the Arts, he received a lot of praise for the work he exhibited, which evidenced outstanding painterly skill and sense of color. At a collaboration auction with the singer and art collector Jay Chou, held at Sotheby’s Hong Kong in June this year, Ida’s work was one of the core pieces, and the successful bid was far higher than the expected price. The world’s art market gazes passionately at this 31 years-old artist, and there are many collectors around the world who adore his work.
Ida says that his interest in art was stimulated by his father, who was also an artist. According to Ida, “when I was misbehaving, my father recommended painting rather than doing nothing, and doing that I came to be drawn to the profundity of painting, and to aim to become an artist. The influence of my father’s best friend Robert Sindorf was crucial, too. When I decided to follow the path of becoming an artist he was very happy for me. Although he has passed away, I cannot ignore the fact that wanting to give him good news about myself is one of the goals that has supported me.”
The paintings Ida is best known for are his Portrait series, which utilizes people he is close to as well as famous people for motifs, and his End of Today series, which depicts scenes from his mind and anonymous people that he encounters. Asked about the fact that portraits make up a significant proportion of his work, Ida speaks about “longing towards people.” He explains, “during my childhood and adolescence I had many experiences with people that made me feel uncomfortable. It was people that caused me trouble, but it was also people who saved me. So, in my heart I have an urgent desire to affirm myself, and to love and converse with other people.
The event that triggered the start of Portrait was a trip to India when he was studying at university. “I was forced to face the figures of people from different situations than I had come from – like beggars. There are terribly poor people and incredibly rich people in the same place. I was shocked by the chaos of such diverse circumstances existing in parallel, and I decided to paint the people I met. I began with my family, or Robert Sindorf and others who were important to me. I pursue the theme of ICHI-GO ICHI-E(a once-in-a-lifetime encounter), which comprehensively includes life and death, the human life cycle, and the emotions that I feel when I encounter someone. The portrait as a motif fits with this theme, and with my own discomfort regarding people. I think that is why I keep painting them, and why I will continue to do so.”
Ida says that his interest in art was stimulated by his father, who was also an artist. According to Ida, “when I was misbehaving, my father recommended painting rather than doing nothing, and doing that I came to be drawn to the profundity of painting, and to aim to become an artist. The influence of my father’s best friend Robert Sindorf was crucial, too. When I decided to follow the path of becoming an artist he was very happy for me. Although he has passed away, I cannot ignore the fact that wanting to give him good news about myself is one of the goals that has supported me.”
The paintings Ida is best known for are his Portrait series, which utilizes people he is close to as well as famous people for motifs, and his End of Today series, which depicts scenes from his mind and anonymous people that he encounters. Asked about the fact that portraits make up a significant proportion of his work, Ida speaks about “longing towards people.” He explains, “during my childhood and adolescence I had many experiences with people that made me feel uncomfortable. It was people that caused me trouble, but it was also people who saved me. So, in my heart I have an urgent desire to affirm myself, and to love and converse with other people.
The event that triggered the start of Portrait was a trip to India when he was studying at university. “I was forced to face the figures of people from different situations than I had come from – like beggars. There are terribly poor people and incredibly rich people in the same place. I was shocked by the chaos of such diverse circumstances existing in parallel, and I decided to paint the people I met. I began with my family, or Robert Sindorf and others who were important to me. I pursue the theme of ICHI-GO ICHI-E(a once-in-a-lifetime encounter), which comprehensively includes life and death, the human life cycle, and the emotions that I feel when I encounter someone. The portrait as a motif fits with this theme, and with my own discomfort regarding people. I think that is why I keep painting them, and why I will continue to do so.”
This is Ida’s second experience of co-creating with StareReap2.5. The first was in 2020, when he published his art book Yukimasa Ida: Crystallization, for which he recreated his Portrait series with StareReap2.5. Alongside new variations of these, in the upcoming exhibition, StareReap2.5, lithography and silkscreen techniques were utilized in a total of 55 pieces. “With different methods of expression, the potential for my creation changes. For example, StareReap2.5 can regenerate matière [the surface texture created by the material] and paint strokes. Lithography is a new approach for me, and I have learned that painterly expression, such as stains and blurs, are possible. And silkscreen is highly planar, and delivers vivid realization. I thought it would be really interesting to explore the visual differences in them,” Ida explains. He adds that using these techniques in parallel resulted in new discoveries for him. “For instance, lithography is a technique to create beautiful color layers one over another, so I thought it could be used in production with StareReap2.5. As a whole, I went back and forth between the techniques to build the entire group of work.”
In recent years, Ida has created abstract landscapes as well as bronzes and wood sculptures. When asked about the increasingly wide range of his production methods he says, “I always ask myself how flexible I can be in my output as an artist, but I am not necessarily consciously trying to widen it. While I was exploring my artistic desires, the range of my production got wider without my knowing it.” And he adds, “I once wanted to be a sculptor, and I was interested in block printing, as well. But the core of what I am is a painter. That has never changed. In other words, that is the absolute center of the circle that surrounds me. There is a definite inspiration and expression that comes out of me as a painter, not as a print maker or sculptor. I think that is evident in this exhibition.”
In recent years, Ida has created abstract landscapes as well as bronzes and wood sculptures. When asked about the increasingly wide range of his production methods he says, “I always ask myself how flexible I can be in my output as an artist, but I am not necessarily consciously trying to widen it. While I was exploring my artistic desires, the range of my production got wider without my knowing it.” And he adds, “I once wanted to be a sculptor, and I was interested in block printing, as well. But the core of what I am is a painter. That has never changed. In other words, that is the absolute center of the circle that surrounds me. There is a definite inspiration and expression that comes out of me as a painter, not as a print maker or sculptor. I think that is evident in this exhibition.”
This is Ida’s second experience of co-creating with StareReap2.5. The first was in 2020, when he published his art book Yukimasa Ida: Crystallization, for which he recreated his Portrait series with StareReap2.5. Alongside new variations of these, in the upcoming exhibition, StareReap2.5, lithography and silkscreen techniques were utilized in a total of 55 pieces. “With different methods of expression, the potential for my creation changes. For example, StareReap2.5 can regenerate matière [the surface texture created by the material] and paint strokes. Lithography is a new approach for me, and I have learned that painterly expression, such as stains and blurs, are possible. And silkscreen is highly planar, and delivers vivid realization. I thought it would be really interesting to explore the visual differences in them,” Ida explains. He adds that using these techniques in parallel resulted in new discoveries for him. “For instance, lithography is a technique to create beautiful color layers one over another, so I thought it could be used in production with StareReap2.5. As a whole, I went back and forth between the techniques to build the entire group of work.”
In recent years, Ida has created abstract landscapes as well as bronzes and wood sculptures. When asked about the increasingly wide range of his production methods he says, “I always ask myself how flexible I can be in my output as an artist, but I am not necessarily consciously trying to widen it. While I was exploring my artistic desires, the range of my production got wider without my knowing it.” And he adds, “I once wanted to be a sculptor, and I was interested in block printing, as well. But the core of what I am is a painter. That has never changed. In other words, that is the absolute center of the circle that surrounds me. There is a definite inspiration and expression that comes out of me as a painter, not as a print maker or sculptor. I think that is evident in this exhibition.”
In recent years, Ida has created abstract landscapes as well as bronzes and wood sculptures. When asked about the increasingly wide range of his production methods he says, “I always ask myself how flexible I can be in my output as an artist, but I am not necessarily consciously trying to widen it. While I was exploring my artistic desires, the range of my production got wider without my knowing it.” And he adds, “I once wanted to be a sculptor, and I was interested in block printing, as well. But the core of what I am is a painter. That has never changed. In other words, that is the absolute center of the circle that surrounds me. There is a definite inspiration and expression that comes out of me as a painter, not as a print maker or sculptor. I think that is evident in this exhibition.”
At Ida’s atelier, a renovated former factory able to store huge paintings and sculptures.
At Ida’s atelier, a renovated former factory able to store huge paintings and sculptures.
Ida produced a StareReap2.5 piece on aluminum sheet. It was the first time for StareReap2.5 to use this material.
Ida produced a StareReap2.5 piece on aluminum sheet. It was the first time for StareReap2.5 to use this material.
On painting: “I cannot express in words such as “like” or “don’t like.” Creating is my life, and when I think about the need to live a fun and fulfilling life, there is nothing more than to keep on expressing.”
On painting: “I cannot express in words such as “like” or “don’t like.” Creating is my life, and when I think about the need to live a fun and fulfilling life, there is nothing more than to keep on expressing.”
Yukimasa Ida
Born in Tottori in 1990. Graduated in Oil Painting Tokyo University of the Arts. In 2019 he completed a master’s degree at the same institution. In 2016 he received the Special Jury Prize at the 2016 Contemporary Art Foundation Awards, and in 2017 he was the youngest participant of the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation Auction, alongside world famous artists. He has also attracted international attention, as demonstrated by his collaboration with Dior in recent years. His major exhibitions include Here and Now, Mariane Ibrahim Gallery (Chicago, US, 2020), King of limbs, Kaikai Kiki Gallery (Tokyo, Japan, 2020), Rhapsody, Mayfair Salon (London, UK, 2019), and Portraits, Ginza Tsutaya Bookshop Ginza Atrium (Tokyo, Japan, 2019). His published book is Yukimasa Ida: Crystallization (Bijutsu Shuppan-sha).
Born in Tottori in 1990. Graduated in Oil Painting Tokyo University of the Arts. In 2019 he completed a master’s degree at the same institution. In 2016 he received the Special Jury Prize at the 2016 Contemporary Art Foundation Awards, and in 2017 he was the youngest participant of the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation Auction, alongside world famous artists. He has also attracted international attention, as demonstrated by his collaboration with Dior in recent years. His major exhibitions include Here and Now, Mariane Ibrahim Gallery (Chicago, US, 2020), King of limbs, Kaikai Kiki Gallery (Tokyo, Japan, 2020), Rhapsody, Mayfair Salon (London, UK, 2019), and Portraits, Ginza Tsutaya Bookshop Ginza Atrium (Tokyo, Japan, 2019). His published book is Yukimasa Ida: Crystallization (Bijutsu Shuppan-sha).
Yukimasa Ida
Born in Tottori in 1990. Graduated in Oil Painting Tokyo University of the Arts. In 2019 he completed a master’s degree at the same institution. In 2016 he received the Special Jury Prize at the 2016 Contemporary Art Foundation Awards, and in 2017 he was the youngest participant of the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation Auction, alongside world famous artists. He has also attracted international attention, as demonstrated by his collaboration with Dior in recent years. His major exhibitions include Here and Now, Mariane Ibrahim Gallery (Chicago, US, 2020), King of limbs, Kaikai Kiki Gallery (Tokyo, Japan, 2020), Rhapsody, Mayfair Salon (London, UK, 2019), and Portraits, Ginza Tsutaya Bookshop Ginza Atrium (Tokyo, Japan, 2019). His published book is Yukimasa Ida: Crystallization (Bijutsu Shuppan-sha).
Born in Tottori in 1990. Graduated in Oil Painting Tokyo University of the Arts. In 2019 he completed a master’s degree at the same institution. In 2016 he received the Special Jury Prize at the 2016 Contemporary Art Foundation Awards, and in 2017 he was the youngest participant of the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation Auction, alongside world famous artists. He has also attracted international attention, as demonstrated by his collaboration with Dior in recent years. His major exhibitions include Here and Now, Mariane Ibrahim Gallery (Chicago, US, 2020), King of limbs, Kaikai Kiki Gallery (Tokyo, Japan, 2020), Rhapsody, Mayfair Salon (London, UK, 2019), and Portraits, Ginza Tsutaya Bookshop Ginza Atrium (Tokyo, Japan, 2019). His published book is Yukimasa Ida: Crystallization (Bijutsu Shuppan-sha).