Miwa Komatsu
Miwa Komatsu grew up in Nagano surrounded by Japan's highest mountains. With art, she searches for connections with the unseen and eternal.
Her practice grew from a revelation that art can live forever – prompted by encounters with the writings of philosophers past and present. From this point on, art became a spiritual pursuit. Miwa realised that her artworks would one day become relics of her own.
Miwa rings a bell at the entrance to a sakaki (divine tree) shrine in Nagano, Japan
In paintings and mandalas, mythical creatures and sacred geometries sit within an esoteric language of symbols and subjects. Miwa's process is at once meditative and unconstrained. Freedom, peace and harmony are her guiding principles. Working without hesitation, she imparts her spirit on canvas.
Fitzrovia Chapel
Fitzrovia Chapel was built in 1891 as part of the now-demolished Middlesex Hospital. Small but spectacular, the building was designed by John Loughborough Pearson then completed by his son and apprentice, Frank. John was known to ask himself one question when assessing his designs. “Does it send you to your knees?”
For a period of time, the chapel stood alone in the void left behind by the demolition of Middlesex Hospital in London
The chapel interior brings together 17 types of marble beneath vaulted ceilings adorned with gold mosaic. The building was never consecrated, meaning that throughout history it has remained open to all as a space for peace and contemplation.
Painting live in London
On June 11 Miwa will spend the day painting a new artwork. The process will be streamed live from start to finish. Once the stream begins, a limited edition print based on the painting she creates will be available to collect, for 48 hours only.
The vast universe that spreads above us, and the many universes that lie within all living things, have no limits.
Miwa Komatsu
Photography · Ollie Tomlinson for Avant Arte
