Masako Kamiya
Masako Kamiya has developed a unique approach to painting that is hers alone. Blurring the line between painting and sculpture, she constructs tiny towers of gouache, an opaque watercolor, one dot at a time on a panel or a piece of paper. When one daub of paint dries, she adds on top of it another dot. When the painting is finished, she will have repeated this process some 10,000 times. Her paintings are stunningly complex, and their minuscule transitions of color are hypnotic, especially on close inspection.
In her paintings on paper, Kamiya has experimented with both the topography and color relationships of her paintings. Her mark making has shifted from dense coverage of the overall surface of a background, which she’s favored for years, to more lacy and airy compositions. Inspired by a three-and-a-half week stay in the darkest place in Ireland in 2016, Kamiya also began to work on darker backgrounds of grey toned paper.
Masako Kamiya’s meticulous accumulations of innumerable dots of paint have attracted much attention in the Boston art scene. The tiny, prismatic stalagmites of paint that spike forward in her works beckon viewers with mesmerizing cascades of visual information.
Born and raised in Japan, Kamiya pursued her art training in the United States at the Massachusetts College of Art and the Montserrat College of Art, where she is now a Professor.
The Dance of Durga, 2022, gouache on paper, 20x16"> Inquire The Dance of Durga (detail), 2022, gouache on paper, 20x16"> Inquire The Trio, 2022, gouache on paper, 20x16" Sold> Inquire The Trio (detail), 2022, gouache on paper, 20x16" Sold> Inquire Metamorphosis, 2022, gouache on paper, 20x16"> Inquire Metamorphosis (detail), 2022, gouache on paper, 20x16"> Inquire Equivalence, 2022, gouache on paper, 20x16"> Inquire Equivalence (detail), 2022, gouache on paper, 20x16"> Inquire Opal, 2022, gouache on paper, 20x16"> Inquire Opal (detail), 2022, gouache on paper, 20x16"> Inquire Fantasmagoria, 2023, gouache on paper, 20x32.5" Sold> Inquire Fantasmagoria (detail), 2023, gouache on paper, 20x32.5" Sold> Inquire Cockatiel Walk, 2023, gouache on paper, 27.5x23"> Inquire Cockatiel Walk (detail), 2023, gouache on paper, 27.5x23"> Inquire Cross-Rhythm, 2022, gouache on paper, 20x16"> Inquire Cross-Rhythm (detail), 2022, gouache on paper, 20x16"> Inquire Samsara, 2022, gouache on paper, 20x16"> Inquire Samsara (detail), 2022, gouache on paper, 20x16"> Inquire The Dance of Allure, 2022, gouache on paper, 20x16"> Inquire The Dance of Allure (detail), 2022, gouache on paper, 20x16"> Inquire Eos, 2019, gouache on paper, 28x21"> Inquire Eos (detail), 2019, gouache on paper, 28x21"> Inquire Eos (detail), 2019, gouache on paper, 28x21"> Inquire See-Saw, 2020, gouache on paper, 20x16" Sold> Inquire See-Saw (detail), 2020, gouache on paper, 20x16" Sold> Inquire See-Saw (detail), 2020, gouache on paper, 20x16" Sold> Inquire Karigane, 2020, gouache on paper, 20x16" Sold> Inquire Karigane (detail), 2020, gouache on paper, 20x16" Sold> Inquire Karigane (detail), 2020, gouache on paper, 20x16" Sold> Inquire Le Pianiste, 2020, gouache on paper, 20x16" Sold> Inquire Le Pianiste (detail), 2020, gouache on paper, 20x16" Sold> Inquire Le Pianiste (detail), 2020, gouache on paper, 20x16" Sold> Inquire Pantheon, 2020, gouache on paper, 20x16" Sold> Inquire Pantheon (detail), 2020, gouache on paper, 20x16" Sold> Inquire Pantheon (detail), 2020, gouache on paper, 20x16" Sold> Inquire Solace, 2020, gouache on paper, 20x15" Sold> Inquire Solace (detail), 2020, gouache on paper, 20x15" Sold> Inquire Solace (detail), 2020, gouache on paper, 20x15" Sold> Inquire Stardom, 2020, gouache on paper, 20x15"> Inquire Stardom (detail), 2020, gouache on paper, 20x15"> Inquire Stardom (detail), 2020, gouache on paper, 20x15"> Inquire The Little Prince, 2020, gouache on paper, 20x16" Sold> Inquire The Little Prince (detail), 2020, gouache on paper, 20x16" Sold> Inquire The Little Prince (detail), 2020, gouache on paper, 20x16" Sold> Inquire Waltz, 2020, gouache on paper, 20x16" Sold> Inquire Waltz (detail), 2020, gouache on paper, 20x16" Sold> Inquire Waltz (detail), 2020, gouache on paper, 20x16" Sold> Inquire Destiny, 2020, gouache on panel, 20x18.5" Sold> Inquire Destiny (detail), 2020, gouache on panel, 20x18.5" Sold> Inquire Destiny (detail), 2020, gouache on panel, 20x18.5" Sold> Inquire Labyrinth, 2020, gouache on panel, 20x18.5" Sold> Inquire Labyrinth (detail), 2020, gouache on panel, 20x18.5" Sold> Inquire Labyrinth (detail), 2020, gouache on panel, 20x18.5" Sold> Inquire Nirvana, 2020, gouache on panel, 20x18.5" Sold> Inquire Nirvana (detail), 2020, gouache on panel, 20x18.5" Sold> Inquire Nirvana (detail), 2020, gouache on panel, 20x18.5"> Inquire Sweet Peas, 2014, gouache on paper, 20x16" Sold> Inquire Sweet Peas (Detail), 2014, gouache on paper, 20x16" Sold> Inquire The Tempest, 2015, gouache on paper, 30x22" Sold> Inquire The Tempest (Detail), 2015, gouache on paper, 30x22" Sold> Inquire Black Rain, 2014, gouache on paper, 20x16" Sold> Inquire Black Rain (Detail), 2014, gouache on paper, 20x16" Sold> Inquire Tinker, 2014, gouache on paper, 20x16" Sold> Inquire Tinker (Detail), 2014, gouache on paper, 20x16" Sold> Inquire Blue Cascade, 2014, gouache on paper, 20x16" Sold> Inquire Blue Cascade (Detail), 2014, gouache on paper, 20x16" Sold> Inquire Limestone Singing, 2016, gouache on paper, 20.5x16.5" Sold> Inquire Limestone Singing (detail), 2016, gouache on paper, 20.5x16.5" Sold> Inquire Aurora, 2015, gouache on paper, 30x67" Sold> Inquire Aurora (detail), 2015, gouache on paper, 30x67" Sold> Inquire Northern Light, 2016, gouache on paper, 20x16"> Inquire Northern Light (detail), 2016, gouache on paper, 20x16"> Inquire The Prophet, 2015, gouache on paper, 49x20"> Inquire The Prophet (detail), 2015, gouache on paper, 49x20"> Inquire Rabbit in the Moon, 2016, gouache on paper, 20x16" Sold> Inquire Rabbit in the Moon (detail), 2016, gouache on paper, 20x16" Sold> Inquire Marseilles, 2016, gouache on paper, 20x16" Sold> Inquire Marseilles (detail), 2016, gouache on paper, 20x16" Sold> Inquire Pilgrim Road, 2016, gouache on paper, 20.5x15.5"> Inquire Pilgrim Road (detail), 2016, gouache on paper, 20.5x15.5"> Inquire Highland, 2016, gouache on paper, 19x15" Sold> Inquire Highland (detail) , 2016, gouache on paper, 19x15" Sold> Inquire Clare Island, 2016, gouache on paper, 20x16" Sold> Inquire Clare Island (detail), 2016, gouache on paper, 20x16" Sold> Inquire Hazel Eye, 2016, gouache on paper, 20.5x16" Sold> Inquire Hazel Eye (detail), 2016, gouache on paper, 20.5x16" Sold> Inquire Black Moon, 2016, gouache on paper, 20.5x16"> Inquire Black Moon (detail), 2016, gouache on paper, 20.5x16"> Inquire Water Dressing, 2014, gouache on paper, 30x22" Sold> Inquire Memory in Mist, 2012, gouache on paper, 20x32" Sold> Inquire Silent Wonder, 2012, gouache on paper, 20x48" Sold> Inquire Wings, 2012, gouache on paper, 20x32" Sold> Inquire Roots, 2012, gouache on paper, 20x16" Sold> Inquire
Masako Kamiya
Masako Kamiya has developed a unique approach to painting that is hers alone. Blurring the line between painting and sculpture, she constructs tiny towers of gouache, an opaque watercolor, one dot at a time on a panel or a piece of paper. When one daub of paint dries, she adds on top of it another dot. When the painting is finished, she will have repeated this process some 10,000 times. Her paintings are stunningly complex, and their minuscule transitions of color are hypnotic, especially on close inspection.
In her paintings on paper, Kamiya has experimented with both the topography and color relationships of her paintings. Her mark making has shifted from dense coverage of the overall surface of a background, which she’s favored for years, to more lacy and airy compositions. Inspired by a three-and-a-half week stay in the darkest place in Ireland in 2016, Kamiya also began to work on darker backgrounds of grey toned paper.
Masako Kamiya’s meticulous accumulations of innumerable dots of paint have attracted much attention in the Boston art scene. The tiny, prismatic stalagmites of paint that spike forward in her works beckon viewers with mesmerizing cascades of visual information.
Born and raised in Japan, Kamiya pursued her art training in the United States at the Massachusetts College of Art and the Montserrat College of Art, where she is now a Professor.