At Whitestone Ginza New Gallery, the exhibition “Dimensions III—in/sight” is holding works by emerging contemporary artists. This space, where the unique talents of multiple artists intersect, creates a platform where individuality and expression come together to generate new insights.

For this exhibition, we conducted interviews with the six participating artists in order to reveal their inner worlds. We asked them the same set of questions to find out how they developed their artistic expressions, and unravel the relationship between art and modern society as depicted in their artworks.

A New Scenery Where Reality and Fantasy Converge

Mishiho Fukuhama《Urchin》(2024, 117.0 × 80.7cm, oil on canvas)

1. What is the theme of your latest exhibition?

Fukuhama: My work centers on the Grandscape series, in which I reimagine small, palm-sized objects as expansive landscapes and depict them on large canvases using oil paints. These pieces evoke a sense of nostalgia within serene spaces, capturing a reality and presence unique to the texture of oil brushstrokes. For this exhibition, I constructed motifs outdoors, drawing inspiration from the interplay of sunlight, sand, and plants to create vast, open scenery.

2. Can you tell us about the featured work, Urchin?

Fukuhama: This piece portrays a scene bathed in the bright, tranquil light of a seaside. The setting, with driftwood and a solitary figure, resembles a snow-covered landscape, blending elements of reality and imagination.

3. Was there a pivotal moment or influence that sparked your creative journey?

Fukuhama: During my student years, I was assigned a project that involved creating and then painting three-dimensional objects. I constructed a model of an imaginary town and painted it. One photograph, taken as if peering into the model, stood out to me—I felt as though I had stepped into the landscape I had created. This experience became the foundation for the oil paintings I create today.

Mishiho Fukuhama《Wash My Wounds》2023-2024, 65.2×91.2cm, oil on canvas)

4. What motivates you to keep creating, and what do you see as your strengths as an artist?

Fukuhama: My motivation lies in the constant emergence of new landscapes I wish to capture. I consider my ability to bring these visions to life through the colors and textures of oil paints to be my strength.

5. How did you develop your current style, and what drives your choice of medium?

Fukuhama: Art offers countless forms of expression, but painting, for me, is one of the most fundamental and compelling methods. Painting’s ability to create space within a flat surface, evoke a flow of time unique to each viewer, and reveal the traces of human effort resonates deeply with me.

I’m particularly drawn to the organic, tactile qualities of oil paints, especially the matte finish of opaque pigments, which I find perfectly suited for my work. My use of a monochromatic palette reflects my ideal of serenity and nostalgia, while also creating a space that feels both real and surreal.

Recently, my relocation to Yamagata, surrounded by abundant natural landscapes of sea and mountains, has shifted my motifs from indoor settings to outdoor scenes. This change has also introduced brighter colors into my palette, reflecting the vividness of the natural world.

6. Are there artists or works that have influenced you?

Fukuhama: I find inspiration in the works of Katsura Funakoshi, Keizo Kitajima, Max Ernst, John Everett Millais, Maurice Sendak, and Dick Bruna.

Whitestone Ginza New Gallery

7. Group exhibitions often foster unique dynamics. What are your expectations for Dimensions III?

Fukuhama: I’m excited to see how the diversity of expressions and artistic directions in the exhibition will highlight the unique appeal of each work.

8. What would you like viewers to take away from your work?

Fukuhama: While my paintings don’t depict decisive events, they are imbued with a sense of potential happenings, leaving room for the viewer’s imagination. Elements of unease, influenced by the instability of the current societal climate, may also surface in the works, suggesting that something is on the verge of occurring.

I hope my landscapes can become a second home for viewers, a space where they can find solace and connection.

9. What are your aspirations for the future?

Fukuhama: I aim to continue exploring landscapes that resonate with both dreamlike and real-world qualities, expanding my work in diverse directions. My goal is to pursue expressions that feel truthful and authentic to me, creating paintings that embody a profound sense of reality.

Mishiho Fukuhama《Wildflower》2024, 41.0 × 41.0cm, oil on canvas)

Mishiho Fukuhama’s realistic brushwork invites viewers to step into her newly envisioned landscapes. Her works are immersive, offering a unique interplay of familiarity and mystery that captures the imagination.

”Dimensions III—in/sight” is open until December 27, 2024. The exhibition can also be viewed anytime online via the Whitestone Gallery Online Store.

Exhibition Information

Mishiho Fukuhama

Born in Tokyo in 1992, Mishiho Fukuhama graduated from Musashino Art University, Faculty of Art and Design, the Department of Oil Painting in 2017. Her artistic world incorporates miniature motifs into the elaborate, realistic depictions, stirring the viewer’s usual sense of scale and feeling of closely belonging to space. Although her brushstrokes appear vivid and stable at first glance, they quietly oppose movement and restlessness, containing a vast universe that cannot be anticipated from the microscopic viewpoint. Fukuhama received numerous awards including “The 42nd Ueno Royal Museum Grand Prize Exhibition” (2024), “Idemitsu Art Award 2023” (2023), 1st Prize at the 11th Exhibition “Debut2023” (hosted by monthly art magazine “Gekkan Bijyutsu”) as well as the 7th Art Contest of Hoshino Coffee, and “FACE 2023” (hosted by SOMPO Museum of Art), to name a few. She has held six solo exhibitions so far. Currently she lives and works in Yamagata Prefecture.