Mino Watabe
Born in Tokyo
- 2016
- Faculty of Art and Design, Department of Painting, Oil Painting Course, Tama Art University, Tokyo (M.F.A.）
- 2014
- Faculty of Art and Design, Department of Painting, Oil Painting Course, Tama Art University, Tokyo (B.F.A.)
Selected Solo Exhibitions
- 2019
- 'FORM,' Gallery Momo projects, Tokyo
- 2019
- 'Botanical garden,' FUKUZAWA Ichiro Memorial Museum, Setagaya, Tokyo
- 2016
- 'Horizon,' Galerie Tokyo Humanite, Tokyo
- 2020
- Hotel Metropolitan Kawasaki, Kanagawa
- 2019
- Akibatamabi 21, 3331 Arts Chiyoda, Tokyo
- 2019
- ART FACTORY Jonanjima, Tokyo
- 2017
- Rise Gallery, Tokyo
- 2016
- Mitsui Fudosan Retail Management Co., Ltd.
- 2015
- 2015 Tokyo Wonder Wall Jury Award
- 2014
- TURNER AWARD2014 Excellence Award
- 2014
- 19th FUKUZAWA Ichiro Award
- 2016
- Shell Art Prize 2016
- 2014
- FACE2014 Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Art Award
- 2014
- Shell Art Prize 2014
- 2013
- Shell Art Prize 2013
- Ritsumeikan University
- Art Gallery Home
- Azusa Sekkei Main Office
Selected Group Exhibitions
Selected Awards
Selected Prizes Won
Selected Corporate Collections
Growing up surrounded by various plants at home, Mino Watabe chooses nature as her motif. Her painting can be characterized by the usage of bold straight lines. After taking a digital picture of organic motif, she makes numerous drawings of the pattern, scraping off elements and reconstruct the picture plane based on the remaining inorganic shapes and straight lines from the drawings.
"Nature creates curved lines while humans create straight lines," said Dr. Hideki Yukawa, a Nobel laureate. It's true that
straight lines don't exist in nature. Straight lines are artificially created for the sake of our convenience by deleting all the
complexity of the curved lines found in the natural world. Nevertheless, as Watabe leaves traces of nature in her
painting, her straight lines are rather organic and even look humorous. Today's world where destruction of nature is
being presented as a serious global threat, her work reminds us of the nature's healing power.
For the artist's interview article, go to Article
