Yasuko Hayashi

Born in 1974, in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Hayashi graduated from the Tokyo University of Arts’ Department of Painting, where she specialized in Japanese Painting. Hayashi uses abstract realism to represent the vicissitudes of eastern feminism. Working mainly with traditional Japanese painting, which is delicate, pure, and exquisite. Hayashi does not shy from engendering the poignancy of Eastern spirituality through complex and textured layers in her works, marking her apart from artists that fall trapped to superficiality and banal straightforwardness. 

The indescribable mysteriousness and profound serenity that her works present, breathing through the intricate constructions of layers and scenes, seduce the mind to mystic lands they seem to promise. Hayashi’s sceneries are ethereal, peaceful, and silently in progress. Tempered and elevated, moments born of the undulating rhythm of life come into full bloom on her canvas.

Self-Statement

When encountering an object for the first time, I notice the shape, color, texture, and atmosphere that lead me to feel a pure sense of playful curiosity. After the encounter, the memory and experience that become engraved in my mind are completely unknown feelings that make me want to dig deeper into my memory to explore…to understand it more deeply…

The constant interaction during this exploration process brings out nostalgic feelings for objects that I had not previously encountered. It spawns a passion that surpasses common sense. Unreservedly, I keep my heart open, allowing myself to enjoy the dialogue between the object and my heart. This is the thing that I pay the most attention to in my creations. If someone asks me, “what is art?”, I am absolutely unable to answer them. Art cannot be described using words. It is a broad, vague, and all-encompassing thing which can be observed and interpreted by both the creator and viewer.

For me, creating art is interesting because a large part of it involves manifesting things into existence. Through the continuous movement of my two hands, colors are willfully stacked, reduced, and passed over each other. Then, they are stacked again…. Seeing the vast world reconstructed on a piece of paper brings me joy. I am very grateful for the experiences which have shaped me and the mineral pigments I paint with. Without either one, I cannot create. I do not know what I will create next, and am curious of how I might change as an artist. However, I do know that I will always want my works to bring out a viewer’s memory of past objects and feelings.