Artists | MAKI Gallery | MAKI

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.
The artist’s recent solo exhibitions include Sign, Mitsukoshi Nihonbashi Art Gallery (Tokyo, 2025); Gesture, ARTDYNE (Tokyo, 2024); Not a Mountain, but a Flat Summit, TEZUKAYAMA GALLERY (Osaka, 2023); Unfold Room, gallery stoop (Tokyo, 2020); and Uncertain Map, CALM & PUNK GALLERY (Tokyo, 2018). She also continues to actively participate in group shows across Japan, such as Beyond Reaching You, Beyond Feeling You., TEZUKAYAMA GALLERY (Osaka, 2025); Remaining Fragments, CADAN Yurakucho (Tokyo, 2024); La Promesse d'Avril, galerie frank elbaz (Kyoto, 2024); New Positions 2021, Taguchi Fine Art (Tokyo, 2021); and VOCA 2015 – New Perspectives on Contemporary Art, Ueno Royal Museum (Tokyo, 2015).