Arisa Kumagai, Painter of the Lost Generation

Arisa Kumagai was born in 1991. In Japan, the year saw the beginning of what economists called the ‘lost decade’, a period marked by economic recession that would last until the early 2000s, during which time Arisa Kumagai grew up and developed her art.

A taste for the superfluous

While her family sold garish Italian clothing in an area blighted by the mafia on the outskirts of Osaka, she fell in love with the flashy and the ornamental. The artist has been heavily influenced by her family environment—the models in her works are all members of her family and the clothing is their own. Her way of working with light is unique, and the reflections and detailing rich; her motifs are reminiscent of the religious ornamentation found in churches. Arisa Kumagai expresses her taste for the superfluous over the functional. These fragmented portraits emit an almost tangible depth and a meditative sadness.

In his Japanese Chronicles, traveller and writer Nicolas Bouvier discussed fullness and emptiness. In her own way, with elegance and appreciation, Arisa Kumagai continues this reflection.

Arisa Kumagai’s work can be found on her website.