With a novel painting style that fuses traditional techniques and modern sensibilities in a unique realm, Akira Kugimachi is a painter who runs at the forefront of the contemporary Japanese art world. His innovative expressions, which use ancient materials such as washi paper and rock paint, interweave photographic perspectives with philosophical thoughts, have attracted widespread attention from the art world in Japan and abroad.

His works question the fundamental theme of "what is landscape?" The painted picture is characterized by a quiet poetry that emerges between the visible and the invisible, between existence and absence. The true value of "Kugicho art" lies at the intersection of the multifaceted perspective cultivated from childhood experiences in different cultures and the techniques that inherit the essence of Japanese art. In today's world dominated by digital technology, his attitude of daring to confront traditional materials and handicrafts can be said to be an act of re-examining the intrinsic value of art. In this special feature, we will unravel Mr. Kugimachi's half life and style.

Kugimachi entered the University of Paris 8 and majored in media art. I set "Art as a Time Apparatus" as the theme of my master's thesis. This philosophical approach established a perspective on art as a device that reconstructs the experience of time and space, rather than just a visual pleasure, and became a key conceptual nucleus in his later work. This point of reflection, where Western media theory and Eastern traditional art views intersect, can be said to be the origin of Kugimachi art.

"Landscape is a 'place' that reaffirms the position of human beings, and a device that questions the relationship between the world and human beings."

As expressed in this phrase, for him, "landscape" is not just a video, but a "philosophical proposition" that questions the relationship between existence and absence. He sees himself as a "mediator" and expresses "emptiness" that suggests the absence of objects through a "conceptual method" that identifies the means, processes, and materials of his painting. It comes to fruition as a picture that seems to depict nothing but celebrates infinite depth and tranquility. When the viewer stands in front of the screen, he can clearly sense the presence of something that is not depicted. It can be said that this feeling is the unique poetry created by Kugimachi's works.

"Another element that brings a unique tension to his work is the introduction of a photographic perspective. Just as photography cuts out and fixes a moment, Kugimachi encapsulates a 'cross-section of time' in his paintings. However, at the same time, the organic breathing of the material materials of washi paper and rock paint also engraves on the canvas the accumulation of time that never resides in photographs. This coexistence of contradictions invites the viewer to a strange tranquility.

Both series share the fundamental question of how to depict "what is not there".

In recent years, he has also developed installations that combine paintings with rock paint and flowing images. In order to integrate with the architectural space, he actively attempts to turn the entire space into a work of art, such as creating murals on all eight sides of the oval main salon at the former residence of Kenzo Takada in Paris, and is also focusing on large-scale projects that immerse viewers in the world of the work and provide an experience that transcends the boundaries of painting. In a space where static paintings and moving images coexist, the viewer perceives the relationship between time and existence as if it were their body.