YASUKO HIRANO

Born in Toyama, Japan in 1985 and currently based in Kanagawa, Yasuko Hirano received her BFA in Oil Painting from Kyoto Seika University in 2007. Although absent of recognizable imagery or a fixed narrative, Hirano’s paintings are inspired by familiar scenery, such as the mountains of her childhood home in Toyama. The artist primes her canvases with a combination of plaster and animal glue, which she then carefully polishes to achieve a smooth surface that enhances the inherent flatness of painting. She repeatedly layers oil paint in the three primary colors—red, blue, and yellow—all of which eventually melt together into nuanced gradations of gray accented by fleeting traces of color. The final brushstrokes and shapes she applies on top serve as flickering references to the passage of time and the ephemeral nature of human perception. Rather than depict, Hirano’s works invite; they act as metaphorical mirrors onto which viewers may project their own elusive sensations and subconscious memories.