COMBINE／BAMI gallery

B30 / Kyoto / Japan

+81-75-754-8154
office@combine-art.com
http://www.combine-art.com/

Born in Kyoto in 1983, Hisashi Matsumoto is 43 years old. He graduated from Kyoto Seika University in 2009.Specializing in oil painting, he pursues a highly detailed style of depiction. Deeply influenced by Rembrandt, he has mastered Western classical painting techniques and explores the realm of realism in his work.
Matsumoto's paintings are characterized by his meticulous observation of subjects and the precise brushwork that constructs his compositions. While he often depicts realistic scenes with faithful representation, he also integrates multiple realistic elements into a single composition, creating an otherworldly, surreal atmosphere.
In recent years, he has focused on juxtaposing nostalgic Japanese motifs and scenes with contemporary settings within a single canvas. The world he creates in his paintings, while employing Western classical techniques, maintains a distinctly Japanese perspective. At the same time, his work resonates with a broader Asian audience, offering a universal yet uniquely personal vision.

Matsumoto’s paintings depict old shopping streets, bars, and kiosks—small, temporary stalls often seen on street corners overseas. In these scenes, papier-mâché dogs or beckoning cats appear as if they were human, creating a nostalgic atmosphere tinged with déjà vu.
Matsumoto was born as the son of a liquor store owner in Kyoto, a business that had thrived for over 100 years. Unfortunately, the store had to close due to unforeseen circumstances, but the things that disappeared without resolution remain etched in his memory. The human dramas he observed while helping with the family business, the fate of the many small shops that once dotted the city—by piecing together these fragments of memory and experience, his current artistic style was born.
The “things that vanished without answers” that Matsumoto senses are likely not unrelated to modern society as a whole. Society, industry, and even culture develop by offering people new and novel things. That passion is the very essence of human vitality. However, the outcome of such fervor is not always happiness. When the pursuit of newness fails to bring fulfillment, people may finally realize they have sacrificed something along the way. Matsumoto’s paintings reflect these contemporary anxieties with a quiet sensitivity.By intertwining personal and societal memories, Matsumoto captures the unchanging nature of humanity.
“The beckoning cats and other items in my paintings are things I found at flea markets. I believe that the essence of trade, in its simplest form, reflects human life itself. Even if society collapses, recovery often begins with small-scale commerce. There is resilience in the act of living—something that transcends time—and that’s what I see in these objects.”Inspired by the sense of nostalgia he felt when encountering kiosks abroad, Matsumoto strives to infuse his nostalgic expression with a warm light that symbolizes the connections formed between people.