In creating her works for this exhibition, Funo expressed her interest in “encompassing different timelines.”

As with her new painting The phases of the moon, a number of circles can be observed in her recent works. While she had painted them subconsciously, she came to the realization that they may in fact be moons. From there, she consciously painted the moon, which shines its light while moving from place to place, repeatedly within the same image as if to “encompass different timelines.”

Fish seed, Fruit bones, and Things I forget as time passes is a title inspired by her son’s verbal mistakes and reflects the artist’s desire to preserve the growth and precious memories of her young child—those bittersweet days filled with love—in their entirety.

Although both works depict similar trees, these are almost all “conceptual trees” inspired by the endearing round shapes of pine trees and mistletoe found near the artist’s home yet painted without any preliminary sketches and without actual observation.

Funo states, “Once I painted a pine tree, I found it utterly fascinating and I think I understood why it has been painted over and over again since ancient times,” and in her painting even captures the memory of walking beside these trees that have stood since long ago with her son, as well as the warmth she felt when holding his hand. Human activities and the blessings of nature, connecting past to present and future, come together to form a three- dimensional narrative world, and building upon her previous works of great depth, achieves further refinement, evoking an eternal passage of time, like the wind blowing through the trees, swaying their leaves and branches.

Ever since I was a child, drawing and painting has been a natural part of my life. I have repeatedly depicted the beauty and loneliness of the world, as if ruminating on them over and over again. It is through this that I have finally come to accept and affirm the fact that I am alive and am inevitably destined to die. Sometimes I feel the presence of something enormous and powerful, wondering why simply painting lines and applying color instills me with such joy and fulfillment. Painting means the world to me.

(Nana Funo’s artist statement, Harper’s baazar art no. 4, October 20, 2025 issue)

We hope visitors will take this opportunity to fully experience Nana Funo’s latest endeavors, as an artist who continues to create new painterly expressions based on an underlying view of the world, and by always remaining true to her own sensibilities.