In Chicago with Japanese artist Yukimasa Ida as he guides us through his solo exhibition Flaming Memory. Centered on the idea of encounter, Ida’s portraits reflect on how faces — whether of loved ones or strangers — shift over time, revealing the fragile and fleeting nature of human connection. To paint another is, for him, to confront his own emotions: love, doubt, and vulnerability.
Built through decisive brushstrokes and a charged palette of blacks and reds, Ida’s works radiate a visceral intensity. His layered canvases become mnemonic surfaces, holding both the texture of paint and the weight of memory. As images blur and material endures, Flaming Memory captures the beauty and impermanence of our encounters — like a flame that flickers, but leaves a trace.
