wood, oil and spiral

For Gallery Weekend Berlin 2025, Galerie Guido W. Baudach presents new paintings by Hinako Miyabayashi. This is the Tokyo-based artist's (*1997) first solo exhibition with the gallery.

“I paint as a “hand” that “accepts” the individual textures and all else that comes with each material: coarsely woven cloth or fine cotton, wood or paper. When I assume I am stretching my own hand out to paint the image, this “accepting hand” comes to me, takes me in, and sets me free. And thus we move together.

As I sit down to paint, I do not lose sight of all that exists around us. Physical distance is not reducible to gesture, but exists in tandem with space (temperature, humidity, and so on).”

–Hinako Miyabayashi

It is clear from Miyabayashi's words that she seeks to connect with the surroundings and objects she contemplates, expressing the subtle sensory nuances from deep within herself. This careful and intimate poetry of hers is also evident in her work titles, and her words and images seem inextricably linked. However, the core of her art is not concerned with poems, but with the impressive transformation of that lyrical sensation into painting. For her, what remains undescribed is painting.

Miyabayashi's artwork is not focused on form, not on materiality or even action. It is not about depictions, meanings, appearances, representations, symbols, signs, or immersion. It is about "presence."  It is an emotional ambush. It is more connected with "approach" than with a reality. It is made up of subtle elements that overlap and line up like sounds, tactile sensations, echoes, and light reflections. It is the perception of the present. The little something that is transforming just before our eyes assails us. In that moment when we approach the world, we come into contact with the perception that is in front of us. In this sense, Miyabayashi's paintings are, beyond specific boundaries, open to all.

–Nobuhiko Murayama