Yuko Sakurai
May 30, 2026 – July 4, 2026
New Works
Japan art – Galerie Friedrich Müller
In her eighth solo exhibition at the Japan Art Gallery, Yuko Sakurai presents a selection of her latest works on paper and wood, created between 2024 and 2026. Although the effect of color, color contrasts, and the subtle textures of the paint application undeniably play an important role in the appearance of these works, it is important to remember that Sakurai by no means sees herself as a painter in the traditional sense. She is always concerned with the works as holistic, three-dimensional objects, using paint—mostly oil paint—as a material to seamlessly integrate them with the support materials.
The artist prefers small and medium formats, as she is by no means interested in impressing with size and volume. Rather, what is of particular importance to her is the intimacy of attentive observation and the resulting empathy with the expressive content of the works. Consequently, what consistently captivates in Sakurai’s works is her precise, loving attention to detail, as well as the transformation of materials into triggers of emotions and moods that usually refer to experiences in specific places at certain times. One example is the enchanting piece “Sun Light Paris I,” which, with its densely arranged arched motifs in yellow, orange, and red, evokes the radiance of sunlight over the city without being in the least representational. All of Yuko Sakurai’s works speak to her deep connection with nature as well as her appreciation—indeed, her profound respect—for the traditional materials with which she works. This applies, for example, to the hand-made, high-quality, and surprisingly sturdy Echizen paper she chooses as a support for her oil paint, or the indigo dye she produces herself, which she uses to color fabric pieces that are then sewn onto the paper. For her unusual, cord-bound, wall-hung objects in the “Kagamino” series, she chose wood from the Japanese cypress (Hinoki). This wood is widely used in Japan, traditionally for temple construction or the crafting of masks in Nō theater. These objects, with their horizontally arranged rods, appear open, delicate, and poetic, especially as they cast colorful reflections onto the wall when illuminated by bright light.
For her vertically oriented works in wood, Yuko Sakurai uses found wood—scrap pieces from a now-defunct sawmill in Tsuyama, her birthplace and current home. She found the sometimes irregular shapes of the thin, carefully worked wood and deliberately left them unchanged. The application of oil paint is intended to bring the wood’s unique sensual quality and beauty even more clearly to the fore.
PeterLodermeyer
Japan Art - Galerie Friedrich Müller
Braubachstraße 9
60311 Frankfurt am Main
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