Yukimasa Ida

Yukimasa Ida (b. 1990 in Totori, Japan; lives and works in Tokyo, Japan) works between abstraction and realism to create paintings, primarily portraiture, infused with estrangement. The aim primarily being to alert the spectator to a different perception of the world.  

His approach of distorting figuration creates a sort of ambiguity and focus on assembly. Yet, this distinctive aesthetic is more formal than thematic. His sculptures and paintings are done in accordance with the rules of shape and color theory. Thick layers of oil take on similar qualities of sculpture, while his bronze ‘heads’ also retain marks that resemble the impact of a forceful palette knife. The objects and strokes are irregular, inviting the viewer closer, while the exorbitant colors form a synthesis to project subversive futuristic and wistful moments. 

Yukimasa Ida graduated in 2019 with a Masters in Oil Painting from Tokyo University of the Arts. He has exhibited across Japan, and abroad in Europe at spaces including Perrotin Gallery (Paris, France), Fabien Fryns Fine Art (London, U.K.), and Kaikai Kiki Gallery (Tokyo, Japan). Ida won the CAF Special Jury Award (2016), and the Arts in Marunouchi Grand Prix (2015). 

His most recent solo museum exhibitions were in Japan at Yonago City Museum of Art and Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art in 2023.