Mitsumasa Kadota

ARTIST

Mitsumasa Kadota (born in 1980 in Shizuoka Prefecture) has focused on exploring new horizons in painting expression by addressing traditional issues in painting, such as the limits of the medium, the relationship between ground and figure, or the relative interplay between color and brushstroke. This style has won the admiration and a solo exhibition was held at Lincoln Center, NY in 2019 in conjunction with the Young Patrons Council of The Museum of Modern Art (formerly the Junior Associates). My works were also collected by the Sezon Museum of Modern Art.

“What Lies Beyond Color”

Matsuba: When I first came up with the idea of launching this interview series on our company’s website, I knew right away that the first person I’d want to speak with was you, Kadota-san. That’s because about one-third of the works in my collection are your paintings. In other words, whether my collection holds its value in the future basically depends on you.

Kadota: I’ll make sure you don’t regret it.

Matsuba: I’m counting on you. To start things off, I’d like to ask about your recent activities. I had the chance to see The Secrets of Color – from Impressionism to Contemporary Art, which was exhibited at the Pola Museum of Art in Hakone for half a year starting December 2024. I was deeply impressed to see your work exhibited alongside renowned artists from the modern era onward like Claude Monet, Henri Matisse, Donald Judd, and Gerhard Richter.

Kadota: Thank you. The Secrets of Color exhibition was a valuable opportunity to explore the deeper aspects of human nature that are difficult to articulate or invisible to the eye, through the broad theme of color. For my part, I curated my works around a concept I’ve been revisiting since my 2019 exhibition in New York—the sensation that these pieces are “polychromatic but come together as a single, chromatic concept.” Some of the pieces on display were actually borrowed from that New York show.

Matsuba: I’ve always found the appeal of your work to be in its vibrant use of color and powerful brushstrokes, and the untitled piece you brought from New York really stood out in that regard. The contrast between purple and yellow was striking, and there was a wonderful tension between raw energy and precision. I was also intrigued by your new piece where you painted directly onto a sofa. It was such a fresh approach.

Kadota: For the exhibition at the Pola Museum of Art, I had the opportunity to collaborate with ARFLEX JAPAN, using their Marenco sofa as a three-dimensional canvas for a new piece. Painting on a three-dimensional object was a completely different process from my usual practice, but I found that the limitations actually became a source of inspiration. It helped expand my expressive range. Even in that work, I continued my recent exploration into how a single color, like black or white, can contain a whole spectrum of hues, and tried to capture that in the final piece.

Matsuba: I imagine the exhibition at the Pola Museum of Art was a major success for you. How has the response been?

Kadota: The response has been wide-ranging. Several pieces were purchased by a collector in the U.S., and I was invited to take part in a group show at Tilsitt Gallery in Portugal, which runs through the end of September this year. Here in Japan, the Marenco sofa collaboration project also led to an exhibition opportunity at ARFLEX ReStore in Tokyo. That show was another chance to present works that explored the theme of diversity through color—this time in the context of a furniture store, a more everyday setting compared to a typical gallery. It was a stimulating experience.

Matsuba: That’s an impressive run, especially considering the recent decline of the global art bubble that was inflated by excess liquidity during the pandemic.

Kadota: The exhibition at ARFLEX ReStore, in particular, helped me realize that there are opportunities and possibilities to broaden my horizon beyond the standard avenues of galleries and art fairs.

Matsuba: As a collector, I often feel that while displaying art in the white cube of a gallery is ideal for showcasing the work itself, it doesn’t really help people visualize how that art would fit into their everyday lives. I’ve always thought that if more galleries could bridge that gap, they could sell more art. That’s why I think showing art in interior shops that present a full lifestyle concept can be a great fit, for both parties. Of course, that only works if the shop is the right one.

Paving Your Own Path

Matsuba: I’d like to ask next about your philosophy and stance as a painter. What kind of things do you usually have in mind when you paint?

Kadota: When I paint, I want to create something that offers a new human perspective—something that expands our sensory perception in ways we haven’t yet realized. It’s said that painting began with cave art, and I think our ancestors discovered that by leaving behind lines, colors, and shapes, they could open up new meanings and value. In my view, this realization that things can be perceived in multiple ways and can evolve is as revolutionary as when humanity first proposed heliocentrism in ancient times or later uncovered the theory of relativity. Thinking of it that way, the act of painting to this day carries a profound mission: to give rise to new ways of seeing the world. That’s why I believe the key for any painter is how they fulfill that role.

Matsuba: Ancient pictographs like hieroglyphs are essentially drawings, after all. It’s clear that painting, which began with cave art, ultimately led to the development of language. But when we take a moment to reflect on that, we realize it was as important an invention as money or religion in shaping the foundations of society—maybe even more so. When seen as something closely tied to the history and progress of humankind, the grand sense of mission and role you mentioned becomes much easier to understand. At the same time, it also makes you realize just how much so-called “art” today stops at superficial expression and technique.

Kadota: Of course, everyone has their own thoughts and ways of expressing themselves, so I’m not saying what’s good or bad. But I do approach my work with the intention of drawing a clear line between my art and that kind of work.

Matsuba: That’s quite the declaration. Well, I suppose it’s because we’re always talking like this that neither of us has many friends in the industry. Still, I’m really looking forward to what you do next. Do you have any upcoming plans?

Kadota: In addition to the upcoming exhibition at the Pola Museum of Art I mentioned earlier, I’d like to make the most of the opportunities and connections I’ve been given and actively expand my activities both in Japan and abroad.

Matsuba: I hear you’ll be holding a solo exhibition at a gallery in New York next year?

Kadota: The details are still being worked out, but yes. It’ll be my first solo show since the one at Lincoln Center in 2019, so I’m really looking forward to it. Also, in today’s art scene, the value of artworks is often controlled by the market, or in other words, by the sellers. As a painter, I want to push back against that system and challenge the world by presenting works with new kinds of value. I believe that’s the most important thing I can do to truly carve out my own path.

Matsuba: Following someone else’s lead just isn’t satisfying. You’ve got to create your own way if you want it to be meaningful.

Kadota: Exactly. I think staying true to that is what allows you to encounter unexpected opportunities and meaningful connections. That, to me, is what art is really about.