Rika Minamitani

Rika Minamitani brings her motifs to life, orchestrating a lively interplay of color, texture, and form that pulses across each canvas. Her work is built through contrasts—vivid versus muted color, smooth versus textured brushwork, and simplified versus detailed motifs. Figures and animals emerge with expressive gestures and spirited movement, conveying a sense of vitality that animates each canvas. Dynamic compositions and bold use of white space further define her practice. In group scenes, interlocking poses and glances direct and sometimes mislead the viewer’s eye, while single-motif paintings often position figures and animals with a careful awareness of the canvas edges, as if negotiating their presence within a defined spatial framework. While her motifs may initially suggest narrative fragments or character studies, Minamitani treats them primarily as vessels for color and form. The figures and animals are inseparable from the visual and structural effects of her painting, generating a balance she describes as “autonomous paintings”—works that are not meant to convey a specific story, but instead explore an independent visual language where form, color, and composition coexist in dynamic harmony. ...