Traditional motifs that add splendor to the space during the Hina-matsuri season

Norihito Tsuchiya is an artist who purely pursues the state of contemporary Japanese painting through his unique techniques. According to Tsuchiya, "Japanese painting has developed its unique sense of space through an extremely simple composition of two elements: the 'form that becomes the subject' and the 'background.' Its greatest characteristic lies in the dichotomy of 'being' and 'nothingness,' which I believe embodies the essence of the Japanese aesthetic sensibility. This sense of space, which could be considered somewhat naive from a three-dimensional perspective, has ultimately led to the pursuit of purity in flat works." This is the so-called relationship between ground and figure.

In Tsuchiya's works, the 'ground' is given depth using semi-transparent Mino washi paper and foil, while the 'figure' is composed of opaque, single colors, reconfigured through irregular repetition by sampling forms from classical art. Highly saturated transparent colors that appear slightly around the forms emphasize them. This creation process, assembled from scratch, seems to be the work's concept itself.

Notably, he creates subtle tonal variations by making indentations in foam resin, applying Mino washi paper or foil, and then filling the indented areas with pigments and layering them with a squeegee.

Although the surface is finished flat, a depth emerges that cannot be categorized by the dichotomy of void and being, or ground and figure, imbuing Tsuchiya's works with light and shadow, and a sense of expansive space. The gracefully depicted stems, leaves, flowers, and fruits of plants come alive with vibrant energy.