12/10/2026
Questions to the Artist | Rei Zukidou
On view | 5 September - 17 October
How has your practice evolved from painting toward material and object, and what can material express that an image alone cannot?
R.Z. (...) the new work, moving away from the stretched canvas felt natural at this point. I wanted to remove the boundary of the sharp-edged 90-degree corners and straight lines, returning to an exploration from the past. Right now, I’m drawn to reducing my dependence on chemical materials and moving my attention toward more elemental materials such as charcoal, pencil, water and pigments. Through this process, my understanding of material has expanded, and “the space it holds” has become a new question. I’m excited for this journey.
In Fugue of Becoming, how do you balance control and openness, and know when to stop?
R.Z. I follow the conversation in the moment, and stop when a gesture starts to feel forced rather than necessary. I’d rather take the force than think the force, but it’s a difficult one. Sometimes the conversation continues by pushing, state to state, but often the work seems to finish itself, and I recognise when there is no more energy to be swallowed.
R.Z.
What does “I want to disappear to connect” mean to you today—is it about reaching something personal or collective?
R.Z. When I tap into State of the unconscious, I feel that I am entering a universe where all is connected. Its more than ourselves, more than human experience, trees, river, stones, bugs, the deserted sand and wet mud, songs from ancestors held on wings, memories, emotions, wonders, grief, observers, pain, wisdom is shared. and in that moment of connection, something is given. So when I say „I want to disappear” I mean „I“ as a self, as a „I“ in a body, as a „I“ in a human experience“.
R.Z.
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