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Sumiko Sakamoto's artworks website

Sentimental Collage

Riverside Hiroshima
Hiroshima, the city of my birth and childhood, spreads like a fan adorned with six beautiful rivers.
The scenic vista of bustling streetcars
against the leisurely flow of water
never fails to fill me with tranquility.
Perhaps this is one of the reasons that I drift towards landscapes portraying water.

Water fills our sense
Water reflects everything, sometimes it is even a mirror for the human heart.
In the stillness of the water, our hearts are at peace,
but when the water becomes turbulent and dark,
we feel ill at ease.
From summer grass crowned with dew to mountain-fed streams burbling through the forests.
Water, even unseen, surrounds us and fills our senses.

Blue Aquatic Planet
Humans are all drawn to the familiar landscape of water, it is there that we see the reflections of our innermost thoughts.
This universe of the self, the one we hold within our mind, flows into the universe without.
This inner-self spills over its banks and becomes a river into the sky, rippling out into infinity.
As homage to this eternal relationship with water,
we have selected these 10 works.

EXHIBITION

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About this artwork

Title
Nymphe on autumn trees
Creation
2022
Technique
Acrylic
Size
17.9 x 15.0 in.
Price
SOLD

As I looked upon a beautiful tree-lined avenue with trees crowned in autumn’s brilliance, I thought to myself that it seemed as if the trees were all drawn close to one another, chatting happily as the day passed. It brought to mind myths of ancient Greece where spirits known as nymphs inhabit the natural world and dwell in trees, rivers, and mountains. Surely there were nymphs here and I chose a novel palette full of warm colors, one that I normally do not include in my works, in seeking to convey the positive emotions of those spirits, using color to represent joy, cheerful goodwill, and trust.

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About this artwork

Title
Coming of the Spring 2022
Creation
2022
Technique
Acrylic
Size
29 x 36 in.
Price
USD4090.91 / EUR3461.53

In 2015’s “Coming of the Spring” I portrayed a young girl leaving behind her childhood and becoming a woman as viewed, bittersweet, through her mother’s eyes. I wanted to capture the confusion, hope and anxieties, and the anticipation of entering a new stage of life. In the seven years since this piece’s creation, the world is more conflicted than ever, but the same girl from my canvas wishes to share a brighter future with all of us. So I revisited her, as a way of letting her voice call out to my present self and to the people of all ages.

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About this artwork

Title
Intersection of Time and Space
Creation
2022
Technique
Acrylic
Size
23.9 x 28.6 in.
Price
USD2,727 / EUR2,308

Drawing inspiration from the works of Salvadore Dalí, a Spanish surrealist artist, I made a world where stairways and water flow between dimensions and realities. I first focused on the floor of my setting, making a foundation in a checkerboard pattern, and then I added in the surrealistic elements meant to draw in the eye and send the mind on a journey.

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About this artwork

Title
Invited to another world
Creation
2022
Technique
Acrylic
Size
8.7 x 10.7 in.
Price
SOLD OUT

There is a hidden pool, and a secret lies within its serene depths – a connection to the universe. The water refracts light and dimensions while graceful carp glide and dance beneath the surface. A cat gazes into the water, timid as it peers into a world alien to all it knows, listening as if the carp are whispering an invitation to their visitor, “come closer.”

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About this artwork

Title
Spiral Stairs
Creation
2022
Technique
Acrylic
Size
10.7 x 8.7 in.
Price
SOLD OUT

Stairways have always struck a romantic chord in my imagination. Spiraling staircases and concrete risers, especially, speak to me of transitions and pathways, ones that may lead us from the mundane reality into some other time and space. It is a potent fantasy, especially now when our world seems poised to take a step and change drastically rather than continue on as a quiet extension of the familiar past.

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About this artwork

Title
Tree of Knowledge
Creation
2021
Technique
Acrylics
Size
8.7 x 10.7 in.
Price
SOLD OUT

The world is rife with uncertainty and suffering and I created this piece while feeling as if an invisible hand protected and kept me from so many of the tragedies that unfold, unseen, all around us. Here, a tree of wisdom grows at the edge of a dimension and the planets all bear their fruit while an angel holds aloft a glass sun whose radiance nurtures all.

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About this artwork

Title
In the Dusk
Creation
2021
Technique
Acrylic
Size
18 x 15 in.
Price
SOLD

My inspiration in this piece started with a bridge near the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art, and a collection of works titled “At the Y-junction” by Tandonori Yokoo. Hearkening to the shadows depicted in some of Yokoo’s pieces, I wanted to depict an imaginary world just beyond an old-fashioned bridge, blending mystery with nostalgia. Here, stepping across the water brings the viewer into a world where the familiar sights of traffic lights become trees and furtive, mischievous demons amuse the viewer’s gaze.

Inquiry/purchase
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About this artwork

Title
Summer Grass
Creation
2019
Technique
Acrylics
Size
15.0 x 17.9 in.
Price
USD1,090.91 / EUR923.1

I often feel a sense of melancholy as summer slowly gives way to autumn. I painted the grasses, hoping to convey with my brushstrokes the excitement I would feel during the hot days of my childhood’s summer vacation. In those days, I remember that the hip-high grasses would appear as a rich blue-green shade before the sun had blazed away the morning dew.

Inquiry/purchase
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About this artwork

Title
Reflection
Creation
2013
Technique
Acrylic+Pastel
Size
15 x 20 in.
Price
USD454.55 / EUR384.6

One of the most haunting and memorable sights in my life was the night sky reflecting with mirror-like perfection upon the tranquil, glassy waters of a lake. I will never forget the stillness of the night, the brilliance of the stars and moon, and the peace and serenity I felt in gazing upon the skies – the one above me and the sky held within the water.

Inquiry/purchase
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About this artwork

Title
Southern Sea Fairies 2020
Creation
2020
Technique
Acrylics
Size
17.9 x 15.0 in.
Price
USD1,090.91 / EUR923.1

I painted “Southern Sea Fairies” on a small canvas a year after painting the original and I used a brighter and purer palette to convey lightness and innocence. Mythologies in other parts of the world hold that the Siren is a creature that only leads sailors astray, stranding or even bringing about their demise with her beautiful singing voice, but in my work my fairies are more innocent and only seek to play with the seaweed that’s stirred up by the large waves of the Indian Ocean. Thinking of the natural world as more innocent and pure may be an oriental quality.”

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Artwork contents of the Online Exhibition "Aquatic Planet"

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About this artwork

Title
Nymphe on autumn trees
Creation
2022
Technique
Acrylic
Size
17.9 x 15.0 in.
Price
SOLD

As I looked upon a beautiful tree-lined avenue with trees crowned in autumn’s brilliance, I thought to myself that it seemed as if the trees were all drawn close to one another, chatting happily as the day passed. It brought to mind myths of ancient Greece where spirits known as nymphs inhabit the natural world and dwell in trees, rivers, and mountains. Surely there were nymphs here and I chose a novel palette full of warm colors, one that I normally do not include in my works, in seeking to convey the positive emotions of those spirits, using color to represent joy, cheerful goodwill, and trust.

Inquiry/purchase
close
close

About this artwork

Title
Coming of the Spring 2022
Creation
2022
Technique
Acrylic
Size
29 x 36 in.
Price
USD4090.91 / EUR3461.53

In 2015’s “Coming of the Spring” I portrayed a young girl leaving behind her childhood and becoming a woman as viewed, bittersweet, through her mother’s eyes. I wanted to capture the confusion, hope and anxieties, and the anticipation of entering a new stage of life. In the seven years since this piece’s creation, the world is more conflicted than ever, but the same girl from my canvas wishes to share a brighter future with all of us. So I revisited her, as a way of letting her voice call out to my present self and to the people of all ages.

Inquiry/purchase
close
close

About this artwork

Title
Intersection of Time and Space
Creation
2022
Technique
Acrylic
Size
23.9 x 28.6 in.
Price
USD2,727 / EUR2,308

Drawing inspiration from the works of Salvadore Dalí, a Spanish surrealist artist, I made a world where stairways and water flow between dimensions and realities. I first focused on the floor of my setting, making a foundation in a checkerboard pattern, and then I added in the surrealistic elements meant to draw in the eye and send the mind on a journey.

Inquiry/purchase
close
close

About this artwork

Title
Invited to another world
Creation
2022
Technique
Acrylic
Size
8.7 x 10.7 in.
Price
SOLD OUT

There is a hidden pool, and a secret lies within its serene depths – a connection to the universe. The water refracts light and dimensions while graceful carp glide and dance beneath the surface. A cat gazes into the water, timid as it peers into a world alien to all it knows, listening as if the carp are whispering an invitation to their visitor, “come closer.”

Inquiry/purchase
close
close

About this artwork

Title
Spiral Stairs
Creation
2022
Technique
Acrylic
Size
10.7 x 8.7 in.
Price
SOLD OUT

Stairways have always struck a romantic chord in my imagination. Spiraling staircases and concrete risers, especially, speak to me of transitions and pathways, ones that may lead us from the mundane reality into some other time and space. It is a potent fantasy, especially now when our world seems poised to take a step and change drastically rather than continue on as a quiet extension of the familiar past.

Inquiry/purchase
close
close

About this artwork

Title
Tree of Knowledge
Creation
2021
Technique
Acrylics
Size
8.7 x 10.7 in.
Price
SOLD OUT

The world is rife with uncertainty and suffering and I created this piece while feeling as if an invisible hand protected and kept me from so many of the tragedies that unfold, unseen, all around us. Here, a tree of wisdom grows at the edge of a dimension and the planets all bear their fruit while an angel holds aloft a glass sun whose radiance nurtures all.

Inquiry/purchase
close
close

About this artwork

Title
In the Dusk
Creation
2021
Technique
Acrylic
Size
18 x 15 in.
Price
SOLD

My inspiration in this piece started with a bridge near the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art, and a collection of works titled “At the Y-junction” by Tandonori Yokoo. Hearkening to the shadows depicted in some of Yokoo’s pieces, I wanted to depict an imaginary world just beyond an old-fashioned bridge, blending mystery with nostalgia. Here, stepping across the water brings the viewer into a world where the familiar sights of traffic lights become trees and furtive, mischievous demons amuse the viewer’s gaze.

Inquiry/purchase
close
close

About this artwork

Title
Summer Grass
Creation
2019
Technique
Acrylics
Size
15.0 x 17.9 in.
Price
USD1,090.91 / EUR923.1

I often feel a sense of melancholy as summer slowly gives way to autumn. I painted the grasses, hoping to convey with my brushstrokes the excitement I would feel during the hot days of my childhood’s summer vacation. In those days, I remember that the hip-high grasses would appear as a rich blue-green shade before the sun had blazed away the morning dew.

Inquiry/purchase
close
close

About this artwork

Title
Reflection
Creation
2013
Technique
Acrylic+Pastel
Size
15 x 20 in.
Price
USD454.55 / EUR384.6

One of the most haunting and memorable sights in my life was the night sky reflecting with mirror-like perfection upon the tranquil, glassy waters of a lake. I will never forget the stillness of the night, the brilliance of the stars and moon, and the peace and serenity I felt in gazing upon the skies – the one above me and the sky held within the water.

Inquiry/purchase
close
close

About this artwork

Title
Southern Sea Fairies 2020
Creation
2020
Technique
Acrylics
Size
17.9 x 15.0 in.
Price
USD1,090.91 / EUR923.1

I painted “Southern Sea Fairies” on a small canvas a year after painting the original and I used a brighter and purer palette to convey lightness and innocence. Mythologies in other parts of the world hold that the Siren is a creature that only leads sailors astray, stranding or even bringing about their demise with her beautiful singing voice, but in my work my fairies are more innocent and only seek to play with the seaweed that’s stirred up by the large waves of the Indian Ocean. Thinking of the natural world as more innocent and pure may be an oriental quality.”

Inquiry/purchase
close

ARCHIVE

#004

Tales from my Cosmos

2023.2.4

Our memories can waver and change as time passes by, likewise our recollections can spark fresh perspectives to the stories we hold in our inner selves, the tales that make us who we are within our deepest silences. I am pleased to present 10 works that weave my tale, a story of my inner cosmos. I hope they will inspire each viewer to take an appreciative journey through their own cosmos.

#003

Aquatic Planet

2022.4.2

Humans are all drawn to the familiar landscape of water, it is there that we see the reflections of our innermost thoughts. This universe of the self, the one we hold within our mind, flows into the universe without. This inner-self spills over its banks and becomes a river into the sky, rippling out into infinity. As homage to this eternal relationship with water, we have selected these 10 works.

#002

A Gift from the Moon

2021.9.22

“Moon” is the theme of this online exhibition. The works herein either directly depict the moon and its transitory stages, or invites the viewer’s imagination to infer the Moon from the rendering of its light across a brightened night sky. My hope is that my viewers will see my works and understand the influence the moonlight held over my heart and imagination.

2020 was a year where we saw many drastic changes sweep through our lives. In this turbulent time, I revisited familiar sights and locations with a fresh perspective, leading to new discoveries. Tokyo is a city adrift and thriving in the magic of transition, changing with each passing moment. I’m pleased to be able to present my beloved city in my heartfelt creations.

// 2023/07/22 右クリック抑止 by yuki