Ross + Kramer is pleased to announce Noritoshi Mitsuuchi’s debut solo exhibition with the gallery, entitled Poetic Stars, opening March 7, 2024 in New York. The artist would like to dedicate this exhibition to the lives and legacies of Bill Brady and Michel Cohen.
In Poetic Stars, Mitsuuchi presents a suite of eleven paintings made within the last year. The artist draws inspiration from ancient art forms and folklore as well as contemporary culture. His spirited compositions consist of bold, simplistic brush strokes and color washed backgrounds that lend the work a timeworn feel. The subject matter of Mitsuuchi’s work is reminiscent of European fairy tales and references archaic art works such as the 12th-century Chōjū-Giga (“Animal Caricature”) scrolls, which are considered to be the oldest work of manga. The knights, princesses, dragons, and cats that populate his canvases are often seen perched on clouds—a motif that takes after 11th-century Buddhist sculptures called Unchūkuyō Bosatsu (“Bodhisattvas on Clouds”).
Tapping into memories of the unfettered creativity of youth, Mitsuuchi’s work is a celebration of fantasy and its unconstrained freedom. This collection of paintings serves as a reminder of what is often lost on the path to adulthood, leading viewers to rediscover parts of themselves that have been buried in the mundane.
Noritoshi Mitsuuchi (b. 1978, Osaka, Japan) is a painter, currently living and working in Osaka, Japan. Mitsuuchi’s work has been featured in solo and group exhibitions at Bill Brady Gallery (Los Angeles, CA); ATM Gallery (New York, NY); Bill Brady Gallery (Miami, FL); Galerie Zberro (Paris, France); Ascaso Gallery (Caracas, Venezuela); Galerie Ovo (Taipei, Taiwan); Waluso Gallery (London, UK); Gallery Ascend (Wong Chuk Hang, HK); ELIGERE (Seoul, South Korea); GR Gallery (New York, NY); and Ascaso Gallery (Miami, FL).