Keita Morimoto

Keita Morimoto transforms urban streets into rich, cinematic backdrops. His paintings, in oil and acrylic on canvas, show his mastery of artificial light. Borrowing techniques from Baroque painters, Morimoto’s subjects pose under dramatic spotlights – a twist on Rembrandt's contrasting use of light and shadow. Yet, the soft focus on the central figures give the paintings the atmospheric haze of a video game. Combined with hyperrealist figuration, the result is uncanny – like snapshots from a parallel universe almost identical to our own.

Tokyo takes on new life in Morimoto’s painting. He moved back to Japan in 2021 after fifteen years living abroad. Since, he’s been transfixed by Tokyo at night. In fact, he rarely depicts daytime scenes, preferring the warm glow of streetlights and shop windows. In Lost in Time (2022) and Summer Rain (2022), multicoloured light emanates from vending machines – a uniquely modern and characteristically Japanese feature. Mundane buildings like diners and minimarts are shown as the centre of the world. Morimoto captures the essence of the modern self through the places we go to the most.