minourakentaro

Born in Shizuoka in 1978, and growing up in the downtown area of Tokyo (Asakusa) and based in this metropolis ever since, aside from his distinct paintings Minoura has been known for presenting art works through a broad range of activities including the CD covers of famous Japanese bands and collaborative books with photographer Kotori Kawashima.

Never stopping from his youth, Minoura has been continuously painting till this day. His motifs derive from various elements encountered through his life which has accumilated and evolved into a life-like form. As many of the artists now days are, Minoura was also surrounded by various mixed cultures such as anime, film and music, street and skate. These paintings are a self portrait of the artist and a mirror of his life-style.

From the usage of traditional painting techniques to modern day tools like aerosol, the delicate transition between colors and its layers in Minoura’s paintings, questions us the importance of viewing the works with ones own eyes in an era where there are many other methods to view paintings.

The “things” placed in the anonymous backgrounds painted by Minoura, portray the fragments of the forgotten cultures and the past itself, and through the eyes with a slight hope to be discovered, thse “things” even reflect the struggles and peopled buried under the social system today.