Japanese Painting for the 21st Century | Ryo Shinagawa

Asia Society Japan is honored to invite artist, Ryo Shinagawa for Art for Breakfast this May. His works at first sight look academic and historic. They are contemporary Japanese paintings using traditional Japanese materials but mixing modern expressions that are highly minimized. Like the artist himself, his works are philosophical, quiet, and disciplined. In Noboru Tsubaki’s words, “he makes the audacious and difficult challenges to re-interpret the Edo Rinpa school in the present and closes in on the contemporary possibilities through his training experiences in the West.” Since showing distinctions during his post-graduate studies in Kyoto, he has become a sought-after artist with clients waiting for three years until delivery.

In this program, Mr. Shinagawa will talk about his process, journey, and experiences abroad had broadened his work to go beyond the limits of Japanese paintings and expand their future. He is bringing together elements of Japanese art to discover contemporary meaning for traditional materials and styles.

Please join us to hear his thinking, process, and journey.

This event will be conducted in-person and online.
In-person participation is for members and guests only. Online participation is open to the public. Registration is required.
There is an in-person guest fee of 5,000 yen. Online participation is free.

Speaker Bio

Ryo Shinagawa
Artist

Born in Kyoto in 1987, Ryo Shinagawa received his bachelor’s degree in Japanese Painting from Kyoto University of Art and Design in 2014 before completing his master’s degree in the university’s graduate program. He has participated in solo and group exhibitions in Taiwan, Korea, and Japan.

He grounds his contemporary paintings in hundreds of years of tradition. From the simplicity of Zen Buddhism to the gold-leafed Rinpa school, Shinagawa brings together disparate elements of Japanese art to discover contemporary meaning for traditional materials and styles.

In his words, “patterns, history, and thought, they are dependent on a given locale and environment.” As he brings centuries of traditional paintings into the present, Shinagawa works at the intersection of the history of Japanese art and its future.