Shoukan Kirimoto

Shoukan Kirimoto's works are created using a unique technique that involves immersing washi paper in water and meticulously tracing layers of mica, crystal, and sumi ink with a brush for hours or even days with extraordinary focus. 

Centered on the theme of "life", these works convey "love and prayer" and at times exude a "powerful vitality", while at other times evoke a sense of "the preciousness of life" and "compassion". From these pieces emanates an almost mystical energy, as if radiating the power of life itself. 

Kirimoto's works create a unique worldview using mica powder, sumi ink, and washi paper. These pieces, which change dynamically with the light, evoke the "ephemeral transitions" of Japan's four seasons while also serving as symbols of the "preciousness of life”, "love”, and "prayer”. 

A characteristic of Japanese culture is its historical ability to quickly assimilate foreign influences and refine them into uniquely sophisticated and highly creative cultural forms. While Kirimoto's art is rooted in traditional Japanese painting, she successfully creates a unique spatial expression that goes beyond the limits of conventional Japanese art by incorporating elements such as minimalism and material use, both of which originated in the West. 

This cultural "DNA" of secondary creation, born from Japan's natural environment, continues to be passed down and cultivated by contemporary Japanese artists. 

  


 

Graduated from Nara College of Art 

February 2016: Held “2016 Shokan Kirimoto Exhibition” at the 2nd-floor lobby of Shiki Memorial Museum, Matsuyama 

July 2017: Held “2017 Shokan Kirimoto Exhibition A New Departure" 

-Selected for the “15th Japan-France Contemporary Art World Exhibition”; exhibited at the National Art Center, Tokyo 

Exhibited in the Special Recommendation Section at the “47th Belgium-Netherlands Art Prize Exhibition” 

Awarded Runner-Up Grand Prize at “Discover the One Japanese Art 2018 in London”

Exhibited at the “26th International Peace Art Exhibition” in Hiroshima and the United Nations European Headquarters in Geneva 

Won Runner-Up Prize at the “24th Japan Art National Selected Artists Exhibition” 

Received the Grand Prize in the Japanese Painting category at the “Japan Arts Award”