Katsuhiko Matsubara depicts vibrant “inner landscapes” or “fictional ecosystems on canvas”, which can be described as “spiritual microcosms” that oscillate between material and immaterial expressions and are strongly influenced by the philosophical concept of animism, an idea deeply rooted in Japanese culture. Through the vast depth and detail, his paintings develop an engulfing presence in the room, coming alive in front of the viewer through a constant exchange between matter and spirit.
“He treats the paintings as living beings. In a way, it is more like growing a painting than the actual image painting as an act itself. It is comparable to observing the great variety of plants and organisms flourishing in a garden. It is about picking up the vision as the voice that each painting carries within itself and helping it to sprout.“
Katsuhiko Matsubara was born in 1986 in Tokyo, Japan. In 2021 he graduated with a BFA in painting in the class of Anselm Reyle at HFBK Hamburg and was nominated for the prize of the Rainer Wild Art Foundation.
In 2019 he participated in the international studio program of Künstlerhaus Bethanien Berlin with a Grant of the Yoshino Gypsum Art Foundation. Earlier this year he had his first solo exhibition at Galerie RX (Paris). Since 2017 he has participated in numerous group exhibitions (among others) in Spiral Garden (Tokyo), Bar-Am (Berlin), Künstlerhaus Bethanien (Berlin), Westwerk (Hamburg) and Galeria Noah (Augsburg). Matsubara lives and works in Berlin.
