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 f their unique perspectives.

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

Harasawa: For this exhibition, I created work around the theme of how the solitude inherent in contemporary urban dwellers merges with the inorganic city, reconstructing itself as a single living organism within the painting.

The main visual was inspired by the Arakawa Line tram that I see on my way to my part-time job in Minowa. The tracks and train extending from the darkness seem inorganic yet quietly observing us. People walking through the rainy streets with umbrellas seem shielded by apathy. Loneliness merges with the urban landscape to become one within the painting.

- What do you consider your strength as an artist?

Harasawa: I believe my strength and the distinctive features of my work is my exploration of new spirituality in painting while moving between tradition and modernity.

Having lived in cities flooded with vast amounts of information, I, like other contemporary people, have gone through daily life trying not to get affected by everything around meby distancing myself from this acquired indifference and reexamining everyday scenery, I carefully gather the emotions and subtle presences hidden in ordinary scenes and incorporate them into my inner world, which inherits the spirit of traditional Japanese painting.

Kosuke Harasawa “inside pocket” 2025, 41.0 × 31.8 cm, washi paper, mineral pigments, ink, silver leaf

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

Harasawa: The foundation of my work stems from the fear and eeriness caused by hallucinations and auditory illusions I experienced in childhood due to what is called "Alice in Wonderland Syndrome." Though these symptoms disappeared over time, certain landscapes or situations can trigger flashbacks, and each time, the "fear of the unknown" reappears.

While these sensations were once traumatic, now that the symptoms no longer occur, they remain in my memory as objects containing an attractive beauty that draws me in, which I've developed a strong interest in.

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

Harasawa: My works are painted on washi paper using traditional mineral pigments (iwa-enogu) and new mineral pigments. Mineral pigments are traditional Japanese art materials made from natural minerals. These pigments have a coarse texture and, using water as a medium, make realistic expression difficult. While this might seem to limit creative freedom, I believe that within these constraints lies a unique fantastical quality. By confronting these limitations, inner emotions appear in gentle forms in the work, which isn't merely an expression of personal memories but also an attempt to expand the possibilities of painting.

New mineral pigments were developed as an affordable alternative to traditional mineral pigments, with glass as the raw material. Just as our predecessors used minerals to depict mountains and rivers, I use glass to depict cities.

Kosuke Harasawa “Whale Watching the City” 2025, 53.0 × 45.5 cm, washi paper, mineral pigments, ink, silver leaf

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

Harasawa: In Okyo Maruyama's "Ice Screen," ink lines are drawn in various directions on washi paper. By subtly adjusting the thickness and intensity of these ink lines, he expresses the hardness of cracking glaciers, the coldness of the air, and a seemingly endless space. This indirect expression creates contrast and tension on the surface.

I felt both a strange fear and an attraction to this approach and wanted to incorporate it into my own work. To be precise, while expressing and analyzing my work, I realized that there were common elements, and I began to consciously incorporate them into my expression.

- Please share your future prospects or dreams.

Harasawa: I want as many people as possible to see my work and also deliver experiences that resonate deeply with the viewers.

In my creative process, I explore the boundary between fear and attraction lurking in the human unconscious. I want to continue searching for new possibilities in contemporary painting while grounding myself in the tradition and spirit of Japanese painting.

Through my expression, I aim to spread Japan's aesthetic spirit to the world and present new values.

Kosuke Harasawa “Signal” 2025, 162.0 × 162.0 cm, washi paper, mineral pigments, ink, silver leaf

Kosuke Harasawa inherits tradition while making contemporary approaches of his own and incorporating them into his work. This exploration overlaps with urban landscapes, rising as a world that breathes like a living creature.

Dimensions IV - art is