Yu Nishimura (b. 1982, Kanagawa, Japan) graduated from Tama Art University in 2004 and lives and works in Kanagawa. Nishimura focuses his practice on finding the visual and conceptual centre of a painting and capturing the essence of a ‘portrait’ beyond traditional ideas of human figuration. Nishimura uses traditional techniques working with oil and tempura yet cites his inspirers as predominantly photographers, forming a painterly style that echoes Japanese anime and street photography. In constant dialogue with the canvas, the artist employs brushwork that has a fluid and dreamlike effect in a process of superimposing layers of painterly elements, overlapping and misaligning lucid figures, vast planes of colour and scenic landscapes that manifest as blurred or fleeting memories. Nishimura’s oeuvre recounts the aura of everyday life as he spectates and then reconstructs his surroundings, gently manipulating mundane environments into rich and emotional pictorial space.
