Rico

I grew up in Japan in a house filled with my father’s paintings. He is an oil painter, and from him, I learned how to paint. His style is realistic and classical. Since I was a little child, he always told me to look at real things—landscapes, people, and objects—when I paint. So for a long time, I didn’t know how to paint without seeing something in front of me. I wondered how people could paint abstract art.
My mother often told me that I drew and painted every day during my childhood. I started drawing when I was just a baby, surrounded by my father’s art. Much later, in 2006, I received my BA in Visual Communication Design from Musashino Art University in Tokyo. After that, I moved to the Netherlands and earned a BA in Fine Arts from the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam. My work has been shown in solo and group exhibitions in Japan, the Netherlands, and Canada. I have also taught art workshops in both Japan and Canada.
After leaving my parents’ home and art school, there was no one to criticize my paintings anymore. That was when I started to paint freely. It was a fresh and exciting experience, but also difficult. I wasn’t sure what was good or bad, or when a painting was finished. Sometimes I left a painting for months, then returned to it and painted over it again and again. This process feels like fixing or mending something until I feel comfortable looking at it.
I follow my intuition and feelings. Sometimes my daily life shows up in the painting. Other times, I have no idea why I want to add a certain color or shape. In the end, I often add one small, realistic object to finish the piece. Maybe I still feel most comfortable painting something I can really see.
I have always enjoyed using different techniques—drawing, painting, paper cutting, and working with light. My paper collage works reveal hidden layers when they are backlit. About twelve years ago, I began making one-line drawings on long sheets of paper while walking from my house to the hospital to visit my grandmother.
I like to paint ordinary subjects—trees, buildings, and people on the street—in an original, positive, and colorful way. I think the most beautiful things in life are found in everyday moments. Mixing small, recognizable objects with abstract backgrounds has become something I love. When I add a tiny animal or a chair, the abstract part suddenly feels like a landscape to me. I start to see waterfalls, trails, trees, or buildings.
My daughter Hana often finds even more animals and funny little shapes in my paintings, and I really like that.
I currently live and work in Cranbrook, British Columbia, Canada.