Yoshino Masui

“Goodbye Halo”

Goodbye Halo 2011 watercolor, pigment on paper mounted on panel 53.1 × 65.5 cm ©Yoshino Masui

<Introduction>
In Yoshino Masui’s watercolor paintings, usually single animals are situated in the mysterious scenery of minutely painted patterns. These patterns, consisting of countless dots and lines, are not simply decorative. They convey unsettledness and tension in the delicate and mysterious atmosphere. The artist’s intension of grasping the world by repeating, the fragments of memories, and “all kinds of unsettled sentiments” as she calls, are projected on them.
On the base of watercolor, Masui paints over and over. As a result, unique textures emerge from both incidental effects created by spreading paint and the elaborate lines. Animals situated there, usually cats, horses, and birds, have been observed by the artist as familiar objects. Among them, horses are the important source for inspiration as well as motifs for her, who commutes to the horse racing tracks.

On horses, Masui states;

“I always keep my eyes on the bunch of horses around the 3rd corner. Covered by the big tree for a moment, the chunk of colors is approaching like a bullet from the horizon. A winner and losers will be decided on the horizon ahead. The horses pass from horizons to horizons many times, and leave. I wish there is another horizon beyond. This time calm and slow one….”
In Masui’s paintings, these horses and other animals correspond with the backgrounds organically, and are depicted as if they were in myths.

 

<Concept>
“Goodbye Halo” is the name of a female racehorse in U.S. After retiring, she was imported to Japan as a bleeding horse. Now retired from it as well, she stays in a farm in Hokkaido, Japan. Her time may have been finished, but the trace of thoroughbred will continue.
A painting also titled “Goodbye Halo” is created with the delicate character of a pigment that is very difficult to fix into the base and fragile to any kind of water. “Halo” has a meaning of a circle of light shown around a holy person. Including this work, 7 to 8 works will be on the view.
Based on the artist’s wish, 10% of the sales will be donated for the earthquake victims and animals affected in the east northern Japan.