YOD Gallery is delighted to present our fourth Natsuki Machida(b.1980) solo exhibition “Flower Basin”.

For Machida, painting is as natural as breathing or eating. It is also a way to break free from society. “When I paint, I don’t have to conform to anything. It is a space where I am free to just be. Life within the structure of society entails that certain actions and behavior are expected. The pressure sometimes makes me feel hopeless, when fitting in seems impossible.” It is said that human emotions consist of joy, anger, pathos, and humor. Everyone is bound to feel them in a never-ending cycle. However, when emotions that society deems unacceptable come to the surface, they may condemned as “hysterical”. Some emotions are regarded as unseemly by society. Machida has tuned into the way emotions are judged, and incorporates even the negative emotions into her work, and turns them into tools of expression. Yet she avoids indicating where exactly the hysteria is pointed. The objects of anger or sadness, or even happiness, are not stated specifically in her images. The absence of a tangible story allows her to picture a world where emotions may come and go as they are, without judgment or criticism.

Regarding the exhibition title, “Flower Basin”, Machida says that she has painted emotions as they appear in the mind, like flowers may float in a water basin and then be submerged and disappear again. Careful to observe emotions without judgment, she lets the brush trace the canvas. Like a contemplation of blooming flowers, she lets emotions be as they are. It is as if she entrusts them to the painting, to set them free in the picture surface. We warmly wish you welcomed to join us to see this exhibition in person.