• 日本語
Noriko Nagano



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Noriko Nagano's works are characterized by an embrace of water and its energy. Her rich depiction of water reflects its dynamism and infinite possibility. While abstract, her works are rendered with careful attention to the subtle tones of color and texture that are reflected in flowing water. The resulting works convey balance and movement, while maintaining the sense of strength and volatility that is the key characteristic of its subject.

Nagano has travled to various places to sketch water surfaces. Some are beautiful, natural water scenes, but others retain somber memories of places where water once existed peacefully until it released its dark energy. Composed with subtle, yet vibrant arrangements of color, the artist pays meticulous attention to the physical qualities of her medium. The results appear to blur the distinction between the physical and the spiritual. In Nagano's works, colors, particularly blue and white, assume an almost ethereal property that at times elevate the painting from the physical temporary to the surreal and permanent. As the artist has stated, "While following the blue shadow drifting on the water, I wished to at least capture that one moment.”

Born in Tokyo, Nagano graduated from Tama Art University in 1981. In 1996 she studied India ink drawing at Central Academy of Fine Arts Beijing. Over the past three decades, Nagano has exhibited widely in Japan and been the subject of solo exhibitions at a number of prominent galleries in Paris, Beijing, New York, and Tokyo.