Artists | MAKI Gallery | MAKI

Born in 1995 in Tokyo, where she continues to live and work today, Ayumu Yamamoto received both her BFA and MFA in Oil Painting from Musashino Art University in 2018 and 2020, respectively. The human figure, as well as various flora and fauna, are recurring motifs in the artist’s pictorial universe. While Yamamoto’s paintings seem to depict jaunty and blissful moments, such as lovers spending time together amid lush greenery, a myriad of contradictory emotions and narratives are prevalent in her work, exuding an unsettling atmosphere. Palpable tensions are created within the frame through the coexistence of opposing elements—intimacy and discord, light and shadow, balance and instability—drawing the viewer deeper into a fantastical labyrinth. Hovering between representation and abstraction, the paintings attempt to depict the “real” world and its complicated nature through the artist’s unpredictable application of oil paint.
Yamamoto’s solo exhibitions include Shiny at Night, Court Gallery KUNITACHI (Tokyo, 2021); Our Vacation, Open Letter (Tokyo, 2020); Quiet dining table, blue bird, Gallery HEARTY (Gunma, Japan, 2019); and SHINAINARU･ShinAiNaru･Shinainaru･shinainaru, Gallery FACE TO FACE (Tokyo, 2019). In 2021, the artist was the recipient of WATOWA ART AWARD’s Special Jury Award. Yamamoto’s work has been presented globally at various art fairs and group shows, and in 2023, she marked her North American debut by exhibiting in The Armory Show.