KOJI YAMAGUCHI

Koji Yamaguchi (b. 1982, Kanagawa, Japan) is a Japanese artist known for paintings that invite viewers to reassess their surroundings and view ordinary scenes in transformative ways. Inspired by his landscape painter grandfather and the work of Giorgio Morandi, Yamaguchi’s style blends street culture and contemporary art. During his New York stay from 2015-2018, Yamaguchi’s meticulous cityscapes aimed to capture unique urban atmospheres. He began painting scenery as viewed from a speeding skateboard - lightly blurred, conveying transience. Leading him to expand his relationship with the surrounding environment through physical interaction. Influenced by Yasujiro Ozu’s “tatami shot” in the post-war 1940s, Yamaguchi’s works imply the viewer is in motion, with a fluctuating eye level. His landscapes embrace the impermanence of the human experience. The persistent plant life in the canvases amid urban change reminds us of nature’s resilience, inviting contemplation of the passage of time and our place within.