curator: Michal Stolárik

Images with a flavour of history. Aesthetics that diverges from contemporary trends. Narratives that challenge our familiar cultural landscape. The visual realm of Japanese artist Moemi Yamamoto instantly captivates us. Her works invite into disquieting situations between dream and reality, where exteriors seamlessly intertwine with interiors, with an abundance of emotions with mighty presence in her paintings. Yamamoto conjures illusion of life suspended in its own bubble and timelessness. She steers us towards an introspective experience that transcends the boundaries of ordinary perception.

Yamamoto’s première solo exhibition in Slovakia at White & Weiss Gallery presents a segment of her current and ever-evolving opus. She weaves together various historical periods, styles and influences to forge a unique, timeless visual language deeply connected with cultural and artistic heritage. Her art combines different painterly perspectives, drawing inspiration from Central European Gothic paintings, Japanese ukiyo-e and dreams. It also engages with surrealist fascination with metamorphosis and (un)consciousness, alongside symbolism and emotive natural landscapes with melancholic and introspective tones of Romanticism.

Moemi Yamamoto seeks a more sensitive perception of the world. Her work breaks away from the void and homogeneity of contemporary world, delving into profound emotions, supernaturalism, symbolism, and existential themes. She engages with her own dreams and inner experiences. Her works pose more questions than answers, stimulating consciousness and encouraging imagination.

In her works, Yamamoto explores two parallel lines of painting. The first, more narrative in nature, presents more traditional figurative compositions set within interiors, subterranean spaces or urban parks. The figures, often dressed in historicising clothing, are both fictional and concrete, occasionally assuming the form of self-portraits. As we engage with these scenes from varying perspectives, we unveil – somehow voyeuristically – quiet, yet peculiar situations that don’t seem to be meant for our eyes. Their ambiance is reminiscent of slow scenes in films or computer game environments. Overall mood resonates with an undefined spirituality, hinting at rituals or otherworldly, unsettling experiences.

In addition to the interaction of the characters, Yamamoto devotes herself to the representation of objects, organic materials and historical references. She naturally integrates them into her narratives while allowing these items to prime within traditionally styled still lifes reminiscent of Asian interpretations of painted cabinets of curiosities. She combines an array of plants, ethnological and geographical objects, authentic reproductions of found items, old toys, masks, even bizarre fabricated pseudo-inventions. These are arranged on shelves that feature distorted perspectives and deformed spatial illusions.

It is not only a distinctive atmosphere that unites Yamamoto’s works, but also a compact colour palette dominated by earthy tones. Ochre hues, enriched by deep greens and orange shades, evoke the texture of aged wood and patina. These muted yet rich colours resemble archival documents with a whiff of nostalgia for places and situations we have never visited or experienced.

Moemi Yamamoto (b. 1985, Japan, based in Prague) studied painting at the Tohoku University of Art and Design in Japan and at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, where she graduated from The Josef Bolf and Jakub Hošek Studio. She is the laureate of the 2022 Discovery of the Year Award of the Czech Academy of Visual Arts. Her works feature in numerous galleries and institutions, including SPZ Gallery, Prague; BOLD Gallery, Prague; Span Art Gallery, Tokyo; Nichido Gallery, Tokyo, and the Art Taipei and SWAB Barcelona art fairs.

White & Weiss Gallery programme in 2024 was supported from the public funds by the Slovak Art Council.