[Art Collector Visit Vol. 2] The Collection of Yorito Masegi

Visiting an Art Collector

This series visits the homes of art collectors to view their collections.
For the first installment, in connection with the Collectors’ Collective exhibition to be held in December, we visited HIRO’s home. Please see the article below.

For this second installment, we visit Yorito Masegi (@sander_inazuma ), one of the three collectors participating in the Collectors’ Collective exhibition.

Collector Interview

Yorito Masegi (@sander_inazuma )
Yorito Masegi works as a pattern maker, creating paper patterns based on designers’ sketches.

*The interview took place in December 2019.

1. How long have you been collecting?
   Since my first purchase was in March 2016, it’s been about three to four years.
2. What got you started collecting?
   Around 2015, I separated my home from my workspace, and wanting to create a stylish atmosphere, I searched online for images of artists’ ateliers. Among them, I was drawn to the coolness of NIGO’s atelier. There were 20 sets of Andy Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup pieces on display, and I wanted them for myself.
   When I actually made an inquiry, the price was extremely high… So instead I searched for and purchased an Andy Warhol offset poster piece that I could afford.
   Looking back, searching for pieces at prices I could afford was, for me, the first moment when art became connected to price. I still remember the emotion I felt when I hung that piece on the wall.
3. Please tell us about your collecting policy or particular preferences.
   My biggest principle is that I only buy two-dimensional works.
   I simply love paintings, but I’m also constrained by my budget and the size of my home, so I’ve decided to first dig deeply into the context of painting alone.
   Also, since I collect on the premise of displaying works at home, I try to buy bright pieces that can make my wife and son feel happy.
4. What is your most treasured piece?
   It’s a work by Koji Nakazono.
   If I have the chance to buy a work by Nakazono, I intend to purchase it regardless of my budget.

   

5. Please share a memorable collecting episode.
   It was when I bought a work by Yuki Yamamoto.
   I had wanted a Yamamoto piece for some time, but he always sold out, so I never had a chance. In August 2018, I visited the opening day of his solo exhibition at Itamuro Onsen Daikokuya and finally managed to purchase one.

   

   That day, I drove early in the morning to the Koji Nakazono exhibition at the Yokosuka Museum of Art, and after staying about 30 minutes, I decided to buy Nakazono’s work.
   I then headed straight to Daikokuya, a hot spring inn in Nasushiobara, to view Yamamoto’s work. I took part in the talk show, and although I wasn’t a guest at the inn, they let me use the bath and served me a meal — I was deeply moved by their hospitality. I also had time with the other guests to look up at the stars stretching across the night sky. After staying until late, I made my way home alone; along with those memories of the trip, it’s a work I hold dear.

6. Which artist interests you most right now?
   Chim↑Pom.
   For the past few months I’ve been digging into and studying their works and activities. I’m watching with interest how these artists — living in the same generation, the same era, and the same country as me — capture the present through their work. Soon I’ll be arranging a private viewing that includes their new pieces.
7. Which up-and-coming artists do you have high hopes for?
   Atsuko Yamashita and Shozo Taniguchi.

   

   I’ve been following Atsuko Yamashita since her student days and have seen every one of her solo shows. In November 2019 (last month), at her first solo exhibition as an artist represented by TAKU SOMETANI GALLERY, I could see her growth as an artist and a kind of completion.

   

   Shozo Taniguchi’s works somehow evoke memories of my youth and childhood. Of all the artists I collect, he is the only one not affiliated with a gallery, and his solo exhibitions are held at a cafe in Kichijoji. I also sympathize with Taniguchi’s distinctive way of working.

   Tomomi Taoka and Erika Sato, whom I approached to participate in the year-end collection exhibition, are also artists whose works I encountered at school festivals, and I’m paying close attention to their pieces.

8. Which art collectors do you respect (or find interesting)?
   I respect all collectors.
   There’s a huge gap — a line, really — between “seeing” and “buying” art. Only those who have crossed that line know the anguish and joy that comes with it, and whenever I have the chance to see someone’s collection, whatever the work may be, I purely respect them and think it’s amazing.
9. What are your favorite (regularly visited) galleries?
   ANOMALY and Tomio Koyama Gallery.
   As ANOMALY was formed by the merger of Yamamoto Gendai and URANO — both of which I had liked from the start — the works I’ve collected from this gallery make up the largest share of my collection.
   At Tomio Koyama Gallery I’ve only been able to buy from Koji Nakazono so far, but they represent the most artists I’d like to collect in the future, and I visit every solo exhibition.

   WAITINGROOM is also a gallery I love. Many artists who I believe will drive the future of Japanese art — Saya Okubo, Yuichi Hirako, Rikako Kawauchi, Saori Miyake, and others — are represented there, and I have very high expectations.

   

Introducing the Collection

Let me introduce the collection I saw.
Not only the interior of the first and second floors, but also the staircase, corridors, kitchen, and entrance — it was a home wrapped in art everywhere.

mm’s

Drawing on his own career, Masegi is currently working on an art brand project called “mm’s”.
Recently unveiled at Atsuko Yamashita’s solo exhibition “HER,” the project is a limited-edition T-shirt brand produced on high-quality fabric with silkscreen prints layering many plates.

After the Visit

What struck me after visiting Masegi’s home was that there was a clearly defined thread of “narrowing down to painting” running through his collection. Some photographs were included, but they too were works that fit within the context of painting, and there was no sense of dissonance — his home space felt unified. Also striking was that the collection was mindful of the family living there.

I’ll be watching closely the new brand “mm’s,” which embodies his wish to engage with art through his own field of apparel and to contribute to artists and the art industry. Its first release, recently unveiled at Atsuko Yamashita’s solo show, drew considerable attention.

Masegi regularly shares art information on his Twitter account. Please follow him if you’re interested.