Young artist Mizuki Nishiyama has lived and studied in Asia, Italy, and New York, possessing a diverse cultural background. Through her experiences growing up in various places, she deeply understands the various limitations faced by young Asian women in culture, society, and politics. For her, painting is a process of expressing and clarifying thoughts from the chaos of life.
Recently, New Art Wave Gallery announced the launch of “Sitting Upright: Perception and Transcendence,” showcasing 10 of the artist’s latest paintings, inviting everyone to examine the vulnerable situations faced by women in their artwork.
Rui Xiuyama’s works have a strong expressionist style, mostly starting from the anxiety and trauma she feels herself. This exhibition uses a traditional Japanese sitting posture “seiza” as the theme – legs bent, knees together, hands placed facing down on the knees, representing the strict adherence of Japanese people to social etiquette. However, behind the formal sitting posture, the protagonists in the paintings almost all reveal a strong desire for liberation, showing a strong desire to liberate themselves from traditional norms and contemporary gender politics.
This series of works is dominated by a vivid red color, featuring slightly strange human figures, expressing Seiyama Ruigi’s subjective consciousness of the female body. In addition to the upright posture, there are also two gender-neutral human figures facing each other, set on a low table, seemingly implying that they are under the gaze of others, highlighting the fragile state of the two individuals. The artist also references a Japanese phrase “chabudai gaeshi” here (meaning flipping a low table in anger or dissatisfaction), pointing out the dangerous situations often caused by the expectations of Asian men.
In addition, Reiko Nishiyama does not hesitate to express personal emotions in this batch of works, including her close relationship with her mother, who is also a painter, allowing viewers to feel the bond between her and her family, emotions restrained yet profound.
In the above works, we can see the artist deliberately breaking through the various constraints on women’s emotions in society. You may visit the exhibition and experience the various insights of this young painter on gender restrictions.
“Seiza: Perception and Transcendence”
Date: March 24 to April 8, 2022 (Weekends off)
Time: 2:30 PM to 6:30 PM
Location: New Art Wave Gallery, Room 201, 2/F, Tung Chee Building, 86-90 Wellington Street, Central, Hong Kong
Image source and learn more: Art Next Gallery
