Whitestone Ginza New Gallery will host "Dimensions IV - art is," featuring emerging artists.

For this exhibition, we interviewed the three participating artists to delve into their inner worlds. We asked about their approach to art, their relationship with their chosen mediums, and the origins of their creativity. We hope you can sense the depth of their work from their unique perspectives.

- Please tell us about the theme of your work for this exhibition and your main visual piece.

Yamashita: I mainly created works themed around my spirit and nostalgia. The main visual acrylic painting "addiction" represents a new style, different from the Japanese paintings I've worked on previously. Through this work, I reflected on my current values, mental state, and the mindset needed to continue living despite illness and anxiety.

I created "addiction" while thinking about my father. This led me to re-examine my formative landscapes, which resulted in the Japanese painting "Okubo Aquarium," depicting the interior of the live music bar my father used to run.

- What do you consider your strength as an artist?

Yamashita: My love for detailed depiction and the patience I have when facing a canvas. When painting, there are processes that involve repetitive work. I enjoy creating detailed depictions, so I feel that my personality, which allows me to relatively enjoy these repetitive, methodical processes, has been beneficial in approaching my current style.

Chisato Yamashita “spirits I” 2025, 61.7 × 53.0cm, Acrylic on Canvas

- What was the origin of your creative work, or an event that triggered it?

Yamashita: I've loved drawing since childhood. What strongly motivated me to pursue artistic expression was visiting the New Enoshima Aquarium during college, where I saw an exhibition of jellyfish and deep-sea creatures. I was fascinated by the beauty of jellyfish and wanted to recreate it with my own hands, which led me to start creating jellyfish-themed accessories and Nihonga worksI was also strongly drawn to the ecology and unique characteristics of deep-sea creatures, feeling a sense of sympathy and projecting myself into them. This inspired me to create work scombining human figures representing myself with deep-sea creatures.

My father's influence forms the fundamental backdrop of my creative expression. From childhood travel memories, I incorporate the sea and marine life into my works. From memories of the underground live music bar, I include expressions of light illuminating darkness. Additionally, through confronting my father's addiction I arrived at my current acrylic painting style.

- How did you arrive at your current form of expression, and what is your commitment to your medium?

Yamashita: While I usually create Nihonga, I wanted to express my emotions and mental movements in a more raw form, without the characteristic properties of Japanese painting materials. So for this exhibition, I chose to use acrylic paint to combine realism and abstraction.

Compared to Japanese paintings, acrylic paintings have a smooth texture and vivid colors. They lack the soft quality of Japanese washi paper and mineral pigments, creating a straightforward and raw atmosphere. For expressing my mental state without beautification, acrylics are more suitable than mineral pigments. When painting with acrylics, I often create gradations, so I frequently use an acrylic retarder.

Chisato Yamashita “spirits II” 2025, 61.7 × 53.0cm, Acrylic on Canvas

- There's quite a change in these new works from your previous style. What was your intention with the photographic elements in this work?"

Yamashita: When I first set out to depict 'addiction,' I was considering a style referencing Munch, with distortions throughout the work including the background, to express the fear and anxiety of dependency. However, I realized this approach might make the expression one-dimensionally frightening and potentially narrow the viewer's range of acceptance. So instead, I selected gentle landscapes from my recent travel photos and used the gap between that calmness and the strangeness of the central figure to express the horror.

For “addiction”, I chose photographs that intuitively appealed to me. Since then, I've often selected sunset scenes as backgrounds in this style. I once received feedback from a viewer who said, 'including the changing colors of the sunset sky feels like the landscape is embracing and accepting the central figure as it transforms.' I found this gentle interpretation so beautiful that I've incorporated it into my works.

- Are there any people or works that have influenced you?

Yamashita: In my early painting days, I was strongly influenced by the professional figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu. I was impressed by his dedication to expression with full commitment to his life's work. I also went through a period of loving underground arts, being influenced by Shuji Terayama's films and Tenjō Sajiki's theatrical performances.

In terms of production, I worked as an assistant to the Bijinga (beautiful women paintings) artist Kosei Ikenaga for a period, which greatly influenced how I draw hair and lines by observing his techniques up close.

As for individual works, I've been influenced by the anime film "Nekojiru-sō" and the free game "Yume Nikki,". They both have themes of strong spirituality that leaves room for interpretation. I often found myself more attached to minor works rather than mainstream ones.

- Please share your future prospects or dreams.

Yamashita: My goal is to continue creating for as long as possible while considering my health. To achieve this, I want to show my works to many people, not only in Japan but worldwide and engage in dialogue. My biggest hope is that my work becomes something that helps me in my own life, but I would be even happier if in the process, it becomes an element that influences the lives of those who view it.

Chisato Yamashita “spirits Ⅲ” 2025, 61.7 × 53.0cm, Acrylic on Canvas

Yamashita has taken a step from Japanese painting to a new expression through acrylics to examine the depths of the mind. Her works quietly layer landscapes, family memories, and her own mental world, harboring signs of pain and regeneration.

Dimensions IV - art is