Exhibition May 2025, Tadao Ando Kitano Gallery
Artist in residence at the AIRK KOBE, Japan (01.04.25-03.06.25)
Composed of the kanji for "tree" and "sunlight", the poetic Japanese word komorebi evokes the image of sunlight filtering through the leaves of trees. More than just a natural phenomenon, it carries a quiet, contemplative beauty-one that speaks to transience, fragility, and the interplay between what is seen and what remains hidden.
This concept is at the heart of my current work. Through drawing, collage, folding, and oil painting, I explore the tension between light and shadow, between presence and absence. I'm drawn to that porous space between worlds— a threshold where memory, nature, and human trace coexist. My research moves through layers: of paper, of time, of meaning. It is a meditation on the ephemeral, the spectral, and the poetic.
During my residency in Kobe, I immersed myself in the surrounding forests. The landscape — with its shifting light, deep roots, and qulet restlience—onered both inspiration and grounding. It helped me feel connected, even while far from home. The forest became a place of observation and introspection, a living archive of subtle transformations.
My materials reflect this sensitivity to movement and impermanence. I work with extremely thin Japanese papers— each with its own texture and transparency-that I layer, fold, and sometimes allow to move freely in space. Graphite lines trace organic forms and delicate gestures. Collaged elements and handwritten words appear and disappear depending on how the light falls. Shadows become part of the work itself—active, breathing components shaped by time and space.
In these pieces, I seek to invite slowness, attention, and reverie.
To suggest that what is most meaningful may not always be immediately visible. Like komorebi, it may only appear for a moment-subtle, flickering, and quietly alive.