CREDITS:
Illustrated portrait of Natsuko Kiura by Maria Chen
ALL WORKS: © Natsuko Kiura
Courtesy of The Breeder, Athens.
Photos Athanasios Gatos
1. Tree, 2019
Oil on canvas
72.7 x 91 cm., 28.622 x 35.827 in.
2. Mountain, 2024
Oil on canvas
38 x 45.5 cm., 14.961 x 17.913 in.
3. Sea, 2024
Oil on canvas
50 x 60.6 cm., 19.685 x 23.858 in.
4. Park, 2024
Oil on canvas
44.5 x 53 cm., 17.52 x 20.866 in.
Japanese artist Natsuko Kiura reflects deeply on memory, landscape, and universality through her delicate, evocative oil paintings. Born and raised in Kagoshima, Japan—a region framed by the dramatic presence of Sakurajima volcano—her upbringing profoundly influenced her view of life and death, themes that permeate her work. Kiura’s exhibition VISTAS at The Breeder in Athens captures fleeting moments of everyday life, balancing intimate personal experiences with the vast, detached beauty of nature. Through this conversation, Kiura sheds light on her creative process, the subtle interplay of memory and emotion in her art, and how she navigates the intersections of personal history and cultural identity.
CNTRFLD. Could you share a bit about your upbringing in Kagoshima, Japan? How has your heritage and early life shaped your journey as an artist?
NK. Kagoshima is located at the southernmost tip of Honshu in Japan, a region rich in sea and mountains, and I grew up with a view of Sakurajima, an active volcano that erupts in smoke every day. Although I grew up in a regional city that could be found anywhere in Japan, Kagoshima's geographic location at the edge of the country made it difficult for me to easily travel to other areas, and I never left Kyushu until I was in high school. Because of this, when I was a child, I felt as if Kagoshima, located on the edge of Kyushu, was the end of the world, and although my family environment was also a factor, I grew up feeling a sense of isolation, as if I could never go anywhere from here and could never escape. As a child, I felt as if I was living in a different world from the people of my generation around me, but I tried to live in harmony with my surroundings so that they would not realize this. My family environment and living near an active volcano that could explode at any moment strongly shaped my view of life and death, and I think this has influenced my work.
CNTRFLD. You often capture landscapes from intimate moments with your children, infusing your work with a sense of personal memory. What does this process mean to you, and how do you think it shapes the emotional tone of your paintings?
NK. I paint scenery that I actually see in my daily life. I often paint scenes of parks and beaches where we go together because my children are very young now. I try to paint as much as possible without personal memories and emotions. Even if there are people in the scene, I omit their features and depict them flatly as a part of the landscape without any difference from other things. The motifs of the landscapes are based on my actual experiences, but I try not to make the scenes personal by creating a distance between myself and the subjects when I make the paintings. I think this is what leads to the plain and unaffected scenery.
CNTRFLD. Your pieces evoke a sense of blurred nostalgia, often using a soft, delicate colour palette. Can you talk about the choices behind this style and how they help convey memory or distance?
NK. I put on the colour tones as faithfully as possible to the real thing. I feel that changing the colour tones so drastically from the real thing is like creating a fiction in my mind. I also want to depict a landscape that spreads out into the distance, so I often leave the sky and other areas uncoloured, like a blank space, which may express a sense of distance.
CNTRFLD. Your work has been compared to the Yōga art movement, which bridges Japanese and Western influences. What aspects of this movement resonate with you, and how do you see it reflected in your art?
NK. The concept of “Yōga” (Western-style painting) was born in Japan in the late 19th century, and many Japanese began to learn and study oil painting techniques and began creating works in response to the realistic style of painting that did not exist in Japan at that time. Today, however, the only difference is in the materials used for painting, so the boundary between “Western-style painting” and “Nihonga” (Japanese-style painting) is very blurred. I remember that when I started my career in art, oil painting was already very popular and I started painting in oil without any doubts. In my case, my works have elements of Japanese-style painting, such as a two-dimensional view of objects and a spatial expression that makes use of the underlying surface to create a blank space that gives the impression of a three-dimensional space, which may be the reason for the comparison.
CNTRFLD. “VISTAS” explores the tension between intimacy and vastness, especially through your use of minimal human figures. How do you approach balancing these elements to create the feeling of “universal memories” in your landscapes? When I make a painting, I actually look at the scenery and compose it when.
NK. I take the picture. If there are people there, I paint people. I do not intentionally try to create a universal sense of memory, but when I paint a landscape, I want to paint it as if I were taking a snapshot, so I think that my landscape paintings have a universal feel.
CNTRFLD. As a female artist in contemporary Japanese art, what challenges or perspectives have you found unique to your experience? Do you feel these shape the themes you explore in your work?
NK. I don't think it matters whether you are a man or a woman when it comes to artistic activities, as has been the case in the history of the world so far, until now, female artists have not been given much attention in Japan. However, recently, a review of the situation has begun, and female artists are now being evaluated fairly, and the situation of museums seem to be improving by having an equal number of men and women in their exhibitions. However, although the situation in contemporary Japan has improved a little compared to the past, women still bear a large proportion of the workload, including housework and childcare, and it is sometimes difficult for women artists to continue their artistic activities. Although this does not affect my work itself, I myself am always struggling to balance work, housework, and childcare with my activities as an artist. Also, some people around me sometimes do not feel comfortable with me continuing my activities. I got together with other female artists and established a collective in Kagoshima called “か わ る あ い だ の 美 術 (kawaru aida no bijutsu)”, which means art in the process of changing, together with a curator and an artist living in Kagoshima. In Kagoshima, there had been few contemporary art exhibitions, artistic activities have not been well understood, and stereotyped values such as gender roles have remained strong for a long time. In order to gradually change this situation in Kagoshima, we have been working to share and discuss issues with each other and hold exhibitions and talks.
CNTRFLD. Could you tell us more about your creative process? From photographing a moment to its final transformation on canvas, what steps do you go through to create each painting?
NK. I take pictures of the scenery that catches my eye and decide on the composition at that time. While looking at it, I make dozens of drawings on paper with a pen and extract the impression I get by omitting unnecessary things. I then create the paintings in a short time so that the impression does not change.
CNTRFLD. This is your first solo exhibition with The Breeder in Athens. How has sharing your work in an international context influenced your thoughts on art’s ability to bridge cultural or personal boundaries?
NK. I have exhibited mainly only in Japan, and I was trying to create a small difference from other artists in the personal, internal themes that many Japanese artists deal with, but exhibiting outside of Japan gave me a good opportunity to think about my work from a broader perspective, including my own cultural and personal background. At the same time, I am surprised that what I had created locally on the edge of Japan was accepted in an international context.
CNTRFLD. Do you have any forthcoming projects or new directions you're excited to explore? How do you see your art evolving in the future?
NK. In the future, I would like to participate in artist-in-residence programs outside of Japan and create works while staying in the country. I would like to see how my work changes or does not change when I am confronted with an unfamiliar place or environment.
CNTRFLD. For aspiring artists who hope to convey memory and emotion through their work, what advice would you give on developing a personal style and voice?
NK. I think it is important for you to face what you really want to do and keep creating. If you do so, I believe you will develop your own style and your voice will reach the world.
About the Artist.
Natsuko Kiura (b. 1985) is a Japanese painter based in Kagoshima, whose work explores the delicate interplay between memory, landscape, and universality. Drawing inspiration from her upbringing near the volcanic landscapes of southern Japan, Kiura’s oil paintings distil fleeting moments of everyday life into serene yet emotionally resonant scenes. Her work, characterized by soft palettes and restrained brushstrokes, evokes a sense of blurred nostalgia and transcends cultural boundaries. Kiura has exhibited widely in Japan, including at the National Art Centre in Tokyo and the Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art, and VISTAS marks her first solo exhibition with The Breeder in Athens.
