Mitsuru Ando, a Tokyo-based painter inspired by biology and Eastern medicine, opens his first solo exhibition in the United States at Kouri + Corrao Gallery in Santa Fe on April 22.
Mitsuru Ando: 自然のアルゴリズム | Nature’s Algorithms
Opening reception: Friday, April 22, 5-7 pm MT
April 22–May 28, 2022
Kouri + Corrao Gallery, Santa Fe
Mitsuru Ando (b. 1983) is a Tokyo-based painter inspired by biology and Eastern medicine. Stylistically his work pulls from traditional Suiboku-ga and Rin-ha styles, with a focus on giant tree worship, tiny biomes, and slime molds that fight on a cellular level. Describing his work as “a new type of Japanese painting that depicts algorithms of natural form,” Mitsuru employs sweeping brushstrokes to capture geographical elements such as mountains and forests rising in the mist—similar to ancient Chinese painters—not as an attempt to copy nature, but to create the rhythm of nature and the ideal landscape through intentional touches and blotches of pigment.
From late-night strolls and flowers photographed along the road to vacations on Yakushima Island, motifs in both everyday and extraordinary situations inform Mitsuru’s process. Beginning with primed canvas, Mitsuru outlines the framework of the pieces with traditional calligraphy brushes and ink; afterward, creating his fantastical microspheres, primarily with acrylic paint. His distinct attention to negative space allows the viewer’s imagination to dance from branch to branch, filling in the void with their own encounters with the natural world.
Mitsuru’s work is highly acclaimed and widely recognized throughout Japan. He has been selected five times for FACE, Japan’s elite painting competition, and awarded the Chief Judge’s Prize at the Liquitex Art Prize. 自然のアルゴリズム (Nature’s Algorithm) is Mitsuru’s first solo show in the United States.