Japanese artist Miwa Komatsu has felt a deep connection to nature from a young age. “I naturally felt the energy and spirits lurking in nature with the innocence of childhood,” she told Artsy in a recent interview. “The pure influences nature taught me are breathed into most of my works.”
Komatsu is known for paintings, prints, and sculptures that depict vivid, mythical beasts, like the komainu, a lion-dog known for its protective powers. Her affinity for such creatures traces back to her childhood memories of the Nagano Prefecture of Japan, where she would often play in the wilderness of the mountains and riverbanks near her home.
“As the sun began to set and it became time to go home, I would feel a childlike fear of the approaching night,” Komatsu recalled. “At such times, a mountain dog would guide me home. Through these experiences, I began to understand the nature of divine creatures like mountain dogs and komainu, which led me to depict them in my art today.” A new, signature painting by the artist featuring a komainu is now featured in an Artsy Impact Auction, presented in collaboration with the artist and Whitestone Gallery, to benefit natural disaster relief.
Komatsu’s practice draws on the nature and spiritual culture of Japan while considering life, death, and what she calls “The Great Harmonization”: “a philosophy that harmonizes everything in this ‘Great Acceleration’ era where the impact on the global environment is rapidly increasing,” she explained. The resulting works, executed through dynamic, vibrant lines, have positioned Komatsu as a leading Japanese painter of her generation.
Represented by Whitestone Gallery, where she has had four solo shows since 2018, Komatsu has had work enter esteemed collections across the world, including that of the British Museum, the World Trade Center, the Nagano Prefectural Art Museum, the Xiao Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Izumo Grand Shrine in Japan. She also has a strong auction market, with works consistently selling above estimate; her most recent auction sale this past July saw the 2019 painting Inheritance, and Evolution earn HK$1.2 million (US$153,996) at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 86% above its mid-estimate.
Though Komatsu is perhaps best known for painting today, she was originally interested in etching. She got goosebumps, she explained, when she made her first etching as a student; she was struck by what she was able to express through the medium’s intricate linework. But at the age of 27, she started painting, after meeting with gallerists in New York who were interested in seeing unique works.
“From that point on, I began to create unique pieces,” Komatsu said. “In Japan, there is a distinction between ‘prints’ and ‘etchings’ as artworks, but in English, etchings are just prints.” So she found a way to translate her expressive linework to canvas.
Now, she sees her lines not merely as strokes that form a larger picture, but as evoking a deeper, spiritual intent. “During the creation process, I perceive painting as meditation,” Komatsu explained when asked about the balance of energy and serenity in her paintings. “Achieving a semi-unconscious state allows for such balanced brushwork. I often question and reflect on how I arrive at such decisions while painting.”
In the work now for sale on Artsy, Pure Energy Felt in the Forest (2023), she continues her search for harmonization with a vibrant portrayal of a komainu with a unicorn on its head.
“The komainu watches over and protects your soul,” Komatsu explained. “It ensures no evil is attached to your soul and, if there is, has the power to remove it.…Through the komainu, I hope individuals reflect on their souls and understand what their souls truly desire.”
The unicorn symbolizes purity, she continued. “When people stand in front of the painting, I hope they recognize even a glimmer of the pure light within their souls,” she said. “This unicorn-toting divine beast is there to love them, guide them away from impurity, and lead them toward the sacred.”
A dazzling blend of energetic yet harmonious strokes, the work offers a glimpse into Komatsu’s distinctive, spiritual worldview. And while her art has graced galleries and institutions, sacred, and secular spaces alike across the world, her intent never changes. “I believe that every piece of my art chooses its own place to be,” she explained. “Once created, an artwork meets various people, sometimes changing its place and growing.” And in the process, each work serves many different roles. “This includes you, the audience, who play a significant part in the growth of the artwork,” she added.
With Pure Energy Felt in the Forest—proceeds from the sale of which will benefit the Hope Bridge Disaster Relief Association, a South Korean relief organization for wildfires and flood damage—Komatsu considers the role of art and the artist in the face of disaster.
“I believe that humans need clothing, food, shelter, and medicine to live,” she explained. “While medicine cures diseases, I believe art is the medicine that heals the soul and heart. I hold my brush with the hope that through art, many souls will find peace, healing, and growth. I also feel a strong responsibility and role to continue creating until my last breath.” Just like the mountain dogs who were her own spiritual protectors in the Nagano mountains as a child, she hopes her art will convey protection, too.
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September 12, 2023 at 01:54AM
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Rising Japanese Artist Miwa Komatsu Finds Harmony through Painting Mythical Beasts - Artsy
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