Studio Visit: Mitsumasa Kadota
We visited the studio of abstract painter Mitsumasa Kadota.
Our visit took place in early October 2020, right when Tokyo had just been added to the Go To campaign. It was a clear, crisp autumn morning.
Born in 1980 and a graduate of Tokyo Zokei University, Mitsumasa Kadota is represented by M Gallery (Ashikaga, Tochigi) as his mother gallery, and works widely across the country with shows at TEZUKAYAMA GALLERY in the west and EUKARYOTE in the east.
Kadota’s paintings are abstract works overflowing with rich, vibrant color.
He explores expression by translating the fluctuations of his own memories and emotions into the colors and brushstrokes of painting.
Kadota keeps a low profile in terms of public communication, but his works have made their way into a wide range of collections both in Japan and abroad. He produces a large number of paintings, yet available works remain relatively scarce.
In the autumn of 2019, he held his first major overseas solo exhibition “Kadota” at Lincoln Center in New York, supported by MoMA. Cody Franchetti, the nephew of Cy Twombly, is said to have acquired works from the show.
Having been selected as a Holbein Scholarship recipient in the past, Kadota’s studio was stocked with an enormous amount of Holbein paints. According to him, more than 50 different colors are kept on hand at all times.
While he formerly served as a part-time lecturer at Tokyo Zokei University, Kadota now devotes himself fully to his practice. Despite the pandemic, 2020 has been active for him: in March he held a two-person show at EUKARYOTE with his former student, the young artist Saya Aikahi; from June to August he participated in a group exhibition at The Museum of Modern Art, Gunma; in July he had a solo show at M Gallery; and in autumn he has a collaboration planned with UP SIDE DOWN Gallery, a new space launched by an apparel brand in Daikanyama.
We look forward to following Mitsumasa Kadota’s practice in the years ahead.
