I think that painting is a mirror of a person. It's not so much a concept as a cycle of life, where your way of life is on the canvas and you find yourself through the canvas. Art is thought to be a biased world of sensations, but on the contrary, it is also a reality that looks at the essence of things, and in other words, it is close to philosophy or essence. I have such an interesting and troublesome feeling. Life = picture, picture = life.
I have loved crafts and paintings since I was a child, and as an adult, I was exposed to pastel art, which revived the excitement of my childhood. After that, I wanted to start painting in earnest, so I started oil painting when I was about 26 years old, and I continue to do it today.
InterviewFeatured Artist
Painting is a mirror of a person. Mr. Uhito Nakanishi says. He started painting oil at the age of 26. Starting with a group exhibition in 2015 and his first solo exhibition in 2019, he has been steadily progressing with an associate member of the Gunyeom Art Association and exhibition offers from Japan and abroad. We will approach the thoughts of Uhito Nakanishi, who continues to create works that interact with the canvas and look at the essence of what exists.
Production scenery
Please briefly introduce yourself.
Around 2015, when I started painting oil paintings, there were group exhibitions, but one axis was born in 2019. After 19, I applied for my first solo exhibition and public exhibition, and was selected for the Gunyan Art Association, where I became an associate member and received a job offer. This year, we have been selected for the first Japan Bungei Art Competition LLC, won the New Era Japan-France Treasure Art Award, and have been offered exhibitions in Japan and overseas, including Nihonbashi Art. Born in January 1987, the school is a regular course. My 20s were full of ups and downs for me.
Please tell us your motivation for starting your career as a painter and the thoughts you put into your work.
I don't know if I can be called a painter, but I wanted to find out what kind of phenomena can be obtained beyond pursuit and love. If I were to say in one word, it would be sincerity. There are various things you want to feel and cherish, what you like and what you are resistant to, but dig into why you were attracted to it and why you were conscious of it. Digging is difficult, but the more you dig, the more various rough stones come out, and I think there is an essence beyond that. If you don't face it, it won't come out, and I think facing it is sincere.
Self-made picture frame
Please tell us about your production style and your commitment to art materials.
I am aware of color, but I may not think about it. I don't mix paints on the palette. Put one color at a time directly on the canvas. When I think about it, I get a fever for wisdom, so I am moving forward while feeling that this color will come out with my senses.
When I draw, I imagine asking the canvas who you are. If you do that, you will get back that this is what I am doing. It's nice to realize that you're creating something yourself. The canvas you are working on becomes a living thing.
As for the art materials, I made my own picture frame at last year's gun flame exhibition. Woodblock prints are interesting these days. I have a desire to create it myself, not something that has already been made. In the past, I have made tea bowls with pottery, and I also want to make clothes. Currently, painting is a tool that makes it easy to express oneself, but if you find another area, the medium may change. There are many soft paints such as volpane.
Please tell us about the works and people that influenced you.
Around 2018, I went to Junkichi Mukai's atelier at the recommendation of a friend and saw his work, and it was the moment that gave me the opportunity to sprout as an artist. This person's painting is a landscape painting, but I was impressed by the impression painting. The expression of preserving Japanese houses has a sense of mission, and when I looked at the profile, I even felt obsessed with leaving the Japan that should be preserved. It was the moment when I realized that it was not a beautiful color and shape, but that there was a way to leave it like that.
Around 2019, I went to see Eiko Murata's solo exhibition, and I remember that I had a lukewarm impression. The picture looks at me. Even if you move left and right, you will keep looking at it. My benefactor at work showed it to me, and I felt bad at the time, but I was fascinated when I saw it when the flowers sprouted from the buds. The painters who influenced him were Junkichi Mukai, Eiko Murata, and Van Gogh. And the most affected are the benefactors. The person at work who introduced the group of flames. If I hadn't met this person, I wouldn't be here now. How you are aware of your daily life will always have an impact.
Please tell us about your daily schedule and production tips
Work hard at work, and when you get home, you watch videos and anime and relax. If I have time the next day, I will soak in sake and appetizers at a local Japanese izakaya, and sometimes I will enjoy hoppy while listening to records. The picture is drawn on holidays. I sometimes draw on my way home from work.
I wake up around 7 a.m., open the window, feel the wind while listening to the birds singing, and feel dazed for a while. Around 8 o'clock, I put on music and stretched lightly. I go to the canvas before 10 o'clock and paint until about noon. Recently, I switched from commuting by train to commuting by bicycle, and I am now able to ride long distances. I took 2 hours and 30 minutes to go to Ginza Soei Gallery by bicycle. I also like to take a walk and find the charm hidden in the casual landscape.
As for the hint for drawing, one of the directions is to grasp the meaning and thoughts contained in what exists. Take a walk and take a picture of something that attracts you from the casual scenery. Or stand on the spot and go around your sensibilities. It is important to be aware of your daily life. Materials are always around you, within yourself.
Solo exhibition
Please tell us about the happiest and most painful times as a painter.
There is a person who shed tears at his solo exhibition in 2019. All of Taka's bird paintings are facing upwards. The wild boar also slept comfortably and became sleepy until this point. I remembered a lot and cried. Unlike music, painting is a curveball. When I thought that the breaking ball had arrived, I wanted to cry. It is not words or materials. The originality of painting influenced that person.
The hardest time was around 2015. It was a time when I didn't know my direction, values, and myself like I do now. After I started questioning why I was drawing, I lost the energy and interest in drawing. At that time, I had just broken my heart, and questioning the painting that was my pillar of strength was tantamount to losing the meaning of life. At that time, I saw a work by Junkichi Mukai, and when I saw a path towards the skin, I felt like I was ascending to heaven.
"Beauty under the moon (hidden brilliance)"
Written by: Yuhito Nakanishi
Please tell us if there is a work that you think is the most "like me!"
The work I have drawn so far that I think is most personal is the "Beauty Under the Moon (Hidden Brilliance)" that you have posted. It's a flower, but I don't want it to be a flower. I have a mold, but I don't want to make a mold. It's really interesting when I feel uncomfortable, and I feel like I'm an unbalanced person. If you are fluffy, you can say that all the works are your own. There are various flower cards, flower language, abstract and figurative paintings, etc., but there are various aspects, good and bad, and there are peaks and valleys, and the feeling of being restless is like me. I don't want to be satisfied there.
Left: "Moonlight_The beginning is the first movement..."
Right "Ordered signboard"
Written by: Yuhito Nakanishi
Please tell us about your future prospects and thoughts on creating your work.
I plan to exhibit at overseas art fairs, but I wonder how far my expression will expand. You don't have to focus only on the domestic market, and you will be happy if you surprise or delight people. I am here.
As for the way of looking at art, works are conversations. If you look at the work intently, the colors are beautiful, so you are that kind of person. As you look further, you can see through your works that the artist who created you is this kind of person. It has to be like this, it's boring and uninteresting. Art is the essence. Therefore, it affects everything in life.
The goal as an achievement is to exhibit at the Louvre Museum. I want to have an atelier. I've just joined the Art Association, but I want to create an original community. We have also received requests to create a signboard for a Moroccan basket and a request to design a lyric card for a J-pop band. When you make a request, we will welcome you with all our hearts.
For myself, it is to find the essence of expression. Also, health comes first, but even if I am hospitalized, I want to hold the brush until I am about to die and draw the curtain while holding it.
Mr. Uhito Nakanishi interacts with the canvas and finds the essence in his daily life. After meeting Junkichi Mukai, he peeled off his skin and continued to pursue his own expression. While looking ahead to domestic and international development, his passion for continuing to hold the brush until the moment of his death is firmly engraved in his works. Expectations are high for his future activities as he continues his journey to discover the essence of expression.
Interview: 2026/02/18