Currently on view at Altman Siegel, San Francisco is “so far so close,” a solo exhibition by Tokyo based painter Shinpei Kusanagi. The exhibition features Kusanagi’s abstract paintings paired with his illustration work, which is being shown for the first time outside of Japan. Shinpei Kusanagi’s landscapes are both dynamic and understated. Leaving much of the canvas raw, his minimal strokes of acrylic create figures, space and movement. Using simple geometric shapes Kusanagi subtly implies the windows and architectural planes that create the familiar geography of urban landscapes. Efficient marks imply the curve of a sidewalk, while a single brush of green evokes a tree. The broadly applied atmospheric washes of color leave the landscapes devoid of specific detail, as they seem to evoke the memory of a place rather than the place itself.

Installation view. Courtesy of Altman Siegel.

Shinpei Kusanagi
my cold cove – II, 2012
Acrylic on canvas
65.5 x 80.5 cm
25 3/4 x 31 3/4 in.
Courtesy of Altman Siegel.

“so far so close” is on view through April 19, 2014.

For more information visit Altman Siegel, San Francisco.