Rieko Hidaka

About the exhibition
This solo exhibition presented a suite of five intricate drawings and paintings by Japanese artist Rieko Hidaka. Though subtle and monochromatic at first glance, these works are rich in detail and texture, vividly depicting branches and leaves—the artist’s signature subject.

Working within the Japanese Nihonga tradition, Hidaka draws her motifs from nature, often focusing on young trees observed in winter or early spring. The secret of her work lies in the simple yet profound act of ‘looking up’:

'I stand under a tree and look up overhead. There are branches near me and branches far from me, and the sky beyond. There was an indiscernible part, an unfathomable part, even though I tried hard to see and discern it with my own eyes. I [am] fascinated with its strangeness.'

Acknowledgements
This exhibition was supported by the Pola Art Foundation and Daikin Foundation for Contemporary Art.

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^{Image: Rieko Hidaka, From the Space of Trees II 1996, acrylic and pigment on canvas, 240 x 360 cm. Collection of the artist}