Hiromi Sengoku : galerie bruno massa

HIROMI SENGOKU (JPN)

Born in 1982, Saitama, Japan
Lives & works in Tokyo, Japan

Biography

2008 Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Paris, Post-Diplôme
2007 Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Paris (DNSAP)
2005 Musashino Art University, Graduate school
2004 Musashino Art University (Dip.)

Since 2008, she participated regularly to solo exhibitions in Japan and participated in numerous group exhibitions. She also joined art fairs both domestically and internationally with NICHE gallery and galerie bruno in Paris & Tbilisi. Notable awards include the Holbein Scholarship (2004), the Shell Art Award - Kunio Motoe Jury Prize (2011), Ueno Royal Museum Grand Prize Exhibition Nominee (2015), and the Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Museum of Art FACE Award/ Grand Prix (2018). She also participated as a jury member for the Holbein Scholarship in 2019 & 2021.

In addition to my ongoing theme of 'reconstructing classical oil painting techniques and styles with a contemporary perspective,' Hiromi has been using a variety of painting materials in recent years, including acrylics, tempera, and mineral pigments, especially aqueous ones. This exploration stems from a desire to reconsider painting in a society that is becoming increasingly diverse and globalized while reconnecting with my identity as an artist rooted in the East of Japan. Throughout history, painting materials and techniques have developed in close relation to the climate, culture, and society of their respective regions. Artistic traditions from around the world have diversified and, in modern times, actively incorporated influences from other cultures. For example, the transmission of perspective techniques from the West to Japan during the Edo period, as well as the influence of non-Western painting traditions on Western artists from the era of Japonism to modern and contemporary artists like Matisse and Hockney for example, demonstrate the significant impact of cross-cultural exchange on painting. However, when revisiting the history of painting, she noticed that before the differentiation of painting materials and techniques, there were many commonalities. Pre-Renaissance works such as tempera and frescoes shared simplicity in lines and flat color surfaces, and an expression of space that did not rely on perspective. These aspects had significant parallels with Japanese Yamato-e paintings, and there were similarities in the use of isometric perspectives with oblique lines and the depiction of human figures and creatures. This shared expression had a deep connection with the inherent properties of the painting materials.

The artist found the source of these common expressions in ancient cave paintings. Using pigments made from readily available materials, ancient artists created images on cave walls, utilizing the texture of the rock surface to bring their depictions to life with minimal lines, even conveying spatial depth. The desire of humans to 'recreate images on a flat surface' is primal, and the excitement when lines and colors begin to form images, giving birth to 'the world,' is a universal experience transcending time and culture.
This primal sensation of 'the world emerging on a flat surface' is what I aim to capture on canvas, allowing viewers to rediscover and experience the 'illusion' inherent in paintings. To achieve this, she deliberately retains elements such as visible drawing lines and the materiality of natural paints in my works. The unpredictable qualities of water-based paints, like their absorption and uncontrollable spreading, not only aid in this endeavor but also infuse the works with an Eastern sensibility.

The subjects of my paintings are drawn from everyday life, often highlighting seemingly inconspicuous moments or words that resonate with me. This process is driven by my desire to depict the universality of our world and, at its core, the hope to find something meaningful even in the textures and stains on the canvas. The use of tempera has been a key discovery for me, as it allows for the seamless combination of water-based and oil-based painting materials, enabling the incorporation of both Eastern and Western aspects of painting into my works. As an artist with roots in Japan who has also learned and lived in both Japan and Western Europe, Hiromi Sengoku explores how to remix Eastern and Western influences within my own work. In today's increasingly globalized society, rigidly adhering to one side feels unnatural. She makes the coexistence of Eastern and Western elements resonate with the issues of lines and color surfaces in painting, and continuously seek ways to achieve this balance in her work.

Solo Shows

2023 Ring-a-Ring O’Roses, The Circle Goes around and takes you to an Unknown Place, NICHE Gallery, Tokyo, Ginza, Japan
2018 Hiromi SENGOKU Solo Exhibition, Hiroshige Gallery, Ebisu, Tokyo, Japan
2017 The lines re-united, and the people who across them, NICHE Gallery, Ginza, Tokyo, Japan
2016 Tales of the people who links several skys, NICHE Gallery, Ginza, Tokyo, Japan
2014 Tomorrow, we are going to run far, and the day after, we will leave for much further away, NICHE Gallery, Ginza, Tokyo
2013 I wake up, but never awake from the dream, NICHE Gallery, Ginza, Tokyo, Japan
2012 The Utopians, NICHE Gallery, Ginza, Tokyo, Japan
2011 CONVERSATIONS, NICHE Gallery, Ginza, Tokyo, Japan
2009 Hiromi SENGOKU Solo Exhibition, NICHE Gallery, Ginza, Tokyo, Japan

2008 Hiromi SENGOKU Solo Exhibition, NICHE Gallery, Ginza, Tokyo, Japan
2008 Hiromi SENGOKU Solo Exhibition, Brûlerie de Jourdin, Paris, France

Group Shows

2022 PREMIER ART SEOUL, galerie bruno massa, Seoul, South Korea
2022 ART:GWANGJU:22, galerie bruno massa, Gwangju, South Korea

2021 ART MOMENTS JAKARTA, galerie bruno massa, Jakarta, Indonesia

2019 ART:GWANGJU:19, galerie bruno massa, Gwangju, South Korea
2019 The Way of Paintings 2019, (Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Museum of Art, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan
2019 PLAS, galerie bruno massa, Seoul, South Korea
2019 Asia Contemporary Art Show, galerie bruno massa, Hong Kong, S.A.R of China, China

2018 FACE Art Award 2018 Exhibition, Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Museum of Art, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan

2016 Echo-ann Gallery 10th anniversary exhibition, Gallery Echo-ann, Ginza, Tokyo, Japan

2015 Ueno Royal Museum Grand Prize Exhibition, Ueno Royal Art Museum, Ueno, Tokyo, Japan

2014 Ueno Royal Museum Grand Prize Exhibition, Ueno Royal Art Museum, Ueno, Tokyo, Japan
2014 Shell Art Award Exhibition, The National Art Center, Roppongi, Tokyo, Japan
2014 Holbein Scholars’Exhibition, NICHE Gallery, Ginza, Tokyo, Japan
2014 China & Japan Collaborated Exhibition, Seed Art Gallery, Zhengzhou, China

2013 Young Artist’s Show by Niche Gallery, Yoyogi Art school, Harajuku, Tokyo, Japan

2011 International Exhibition of Contemporary Art In Central China, Provincial Museum of Henan, Zhengzhou, China
2011 Shell Art Award Exhibition, Hill side Forum, Daikanyama, Tokyo, Japan
2011 Shanghai Art Fair, Seed Art Gallery, Shanghai Mart, Shanghai, China

2010 Shanghai Art Fair, Emerging Artists Show, Shanghai Mart, Shanghai, China
2010 Shell Art Award Exhibition, Hill side Forum, Daikanyama, Tokyo, Japan

2008 A 100 pursuers, Niche Gallery, Ginza, Tokyo, Japan

2004 Realism, Niche Gallery, Ginza, Tokyo, Japan
2004 Art Box Award, Dicks Color Square Gallery, Nihonbashi, Tokyo, Japan
2004 Tokyo-Competition, Marunouchi-building, Marunouchi, Tokyo, Japan

2003 Art Market in Nihon-TV, Nihon-TV building, Shiodome, Tokyo, Japan

2002 AMAGAI-Market, SPICA MUSIUM, Aoyama, Tokyo, Japan

Prizes

2018 FACE Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Art Award 2018 - The Grand Prize

2015 Ueno Royal Museum Grand Prize - Nominated for Prize

2014 Shell Art Award 2014 - Judge’s encouragement Prize
2014 Ueno Royal Museum Grand Prize 2014 - Selected

2011 Shell Art Award2011 - Selected

2010 Shell Art Award2010 - Selected

2004 Holbein scholarship
2004 Award of the oil-painting section - Graduate Exhibition of Musashino Art University

Ring-a-Ring o’Roses, The Circle Goes around and Takes you to an Unknown Place
2023
oil and acrylic on canvas
162 x 162 x 5 cm - 63,8 x 63,8 x 1,96 in

A Man Brushing Up the Sky
2021
oil on canvas
146 x 114 x 5 cm - 57,5 x 44,9 x 1,9 in

Look Behind You, The Stars are Falling
2022
acrylic, gouache, japanese mineral pigment, gold leaf on panelled linen
33,3 x 45,5 x 3 cm - 13,1 x 17,9 x 1,2 in

Let's Talk About A Republic Which Was Born At The World's End
2012
oil on canvas
162 × 162 × 5 cm - 63 x 63 x 2 in

Someday, We Will Go There In A Sparkling Green Boat
2011
oil on canvas
145 × 145 × 5 cm - 57 x 57 x 2 in

Nabis
2012
oil on canvas
60 × 72 × 4 cm - 23 x 28 x 1,8 in