Ouro: You just opened a show here in LA at Bel Ami. Can you tell us a little bit about the making of this body of work? Are you typically motivated by the end goal of presenting a complete body for an exhibition, or do you lean towards working separately from piece to piece and then allowing a body to develop over time and arise organically through the process?

MK: Thank you for coming to support me at the opening. It was so sweet of you, and I was happy to see you. The body of work is about spirits that are not living things, yet they take on a living body. It started from a story of “Butterfly” in a Japanese Noh play. You can read more details in the press release, which the curator included the synopsis in. The butterfly, longing for the blooming plum blossoms, appears before a monk in human form. The show is a collection of my paintings about when something else is taken into the body. It could be my dog that passed, a fantasy from reading books, or the fruits that are circulating in many local creatures. To make a new body of work, I have individual ideas for each painting, and I never have a solid plan to start. Through the process of making it, I would usually discover the connection between the works and give it a name. I love when this happens. Although I usually have a rough idea of what energy I want for the upcoming show. Making paintings is like playing tarot cards, which always reveals to me something I was unconscious about.

Ouro: You also attended the Art Institute of Chicago. Funnily enough, everyone we have interviewed so far has had some tie to the city. How was your time there? Did it leave any specific traces in your work or life that you still hold close to your practice?

MK: I remember my time in Chicago as a great time. I was mainly working on egg tempera painting after I learned with Jim Lutes. How I develop the layering today is really influenced by learning tempera painting. The lab had such a great energy with the supportive and knowledgeable teachers and technicians. My practice has benefited from their help and resources. AIC also had a great source of inspiration. It was so lovely to pop in and out like my own bathroom.

Ouro: Your studio is currently based in London. From afar, it seems that move coincided with your career expanding. Did you find the move helpful on a personal and professional level?

MK: I was feeling a little rootless back then, before I moved to London. After I left my hometown, Nagoya city, I lived in Tokyo, Chicago, and New York. It was a big decision to relocate to London. London has lots of beautiful places and a vibrant culture, and people who are dedicated to it, so these fed my practice. I also realised how much I love the place with big trees and a small river. It gives me not only inspiration but also a sense of security and stability. There was also the COVID-19 pandemic, which occurred just before my move to London, and a lot was happening with my family while I was with them for a few months. I emotionally grew up during that period. I am delighted to say that now I am rooted in London, which allows me to miss my hometown deeply.

Ouro: How tethered to real places are your paintings, or do they tend to blur and abstract memories of places? Perhaps you could also elaborate on the genesis of your paintings. Is there a specific route you take to complete a work, or does each painting arise from its own unique set of references?

MK: All my paintings are based on my memories, so there are always specific places that I refer to in the work, but they contain multiple moments. I create stories and combine other memories, so each painting always becomes a montage of my life and my delusion. When I see the cliff, I could be in love or crying in my heart. I want to create a painting about the place and what I was feeling and thinking at the time. The particular moment will never come back, and the place will never be the same again.

*The butterfly dream*, 2025, Oil on linen, 51 1/8 x 39 3/8 in (130 x 100 cm)
Photo by Justin Piperger

Ouro: Each of your paintings is made with care and a high attachment to detail. When you began to show with increased frequency, was it a strain on your practice? And is it a strain now? If so, what do you do to combat the stress and preserve the space necessary to paint in the studio?

MK: I have had the experience of overbooking exhibitions in the past, so I don't do that anymore. Not having enough time to make is the most stressful thing. Preparing for shows has always been a lot of fun, and I enjoy the creative burden. If I do feel stressed, I usually talk to close friends and family, release my emotions, acknowledge them, and embrace them.

Ouro: Painting is a medium that encourages a conversation between artists, meaning that many painters have a list of certain other artists who they think about frequently in the studio. Who are some of the artists you continue to revisit and is there a point at which they become too much of a presence in the studio so you need to take some time away from looking at them?

I often listen to Björk at the studio, and her music reminds me of something when I am distracted. I was repeatedly listening to a couple of her albums while I was working on “Incarnation”. I love Surrealists, especially Leonor Fini. I have been into her work since I was 18 years old, and she has always been my idol. Not only her peculiar imageries but also her dedication to the details captivate me. I also love Shoen Uemura’s paintings. Her gaze on women's daily life has always been a big inspiration to me since I was a child. I had always been fascinated by Les Nabis, such as Pierre Bonnard and Édouard Vuillard. When I learned about the movement at the age of 15, I was overjoyed. I could understand what they were trying to tell straight away - but we were born in different times and different places, and I felt so romantic about it. I no longer actively engage with their work because I want to make something they did not make.

Ouro: Can you offer some advice to artists who may be just beginning their professional careers? Anything you’ve learned that’s indispensable to preserving a practice in current times.

MK: Sure. Everyone has a unique way of being an artist, so find a way that suits you. Understanding who you are and what makes you happy helps you to know that. It is about how you want to live.

Minami Kobayashi

PAIGE WASSEL