Tomoya Matsuzaki (b.1977, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan; lives and works in London), is an artist who creates paintings on support mediums made from water-based resin. Producing works characterized by abstract patterns depicted in subdued colors upon thick surfaces with a stone-like texture, Matsuzaki has pursued a unique practice that straddles the line between painting and sculpture. Matsuzaki states that over the course of the thirty or so years of living in London he has developed a more sensitive awareness of his surroundings from his perspective as a foreign resident. This exhibition features Matsuzaki’s recent paintings, which have undergone significant development and are rooted in his contemplations of landscapes in association with the wild grass foraging and food workshops he has been conducting over the past few years, as well as his “mudlarking” activities, which involve searching for historical relics along the foreshore of London’s River Thames at low tide (like the ocean, the water ebbs and flows, and at low tide the water level can recede up to seven meters *Tomoya Matsuzaki, Wild Grass Forager #4).

“Riverbank” (2025) is a large painting rendered predominantly in blue tones upon which a series of white lines and circles are depicted. Lined up at regular intervals across the platform-like section protruding from the painting—what the artist himself refers to as a “pier”—are found objects he has come across in his surroundings and items excavated through mudlarking on the banks of the River Thames, such as clay pipes, which although historical relics, are commonplace in London. Mudlarking is an activity that the general public and enthusiasts alike can casually partake in (nowadays a permit is required), and involves walking along the banks of the River Thames, where one can at times come across relics from hundreds of years ago peeking out from amidst the mud. Linking the objects lined up along the “pier” to the placing of seashells collected at the beach on a windowsill, Matsuzaki’s idea that the act of collecting things is a gesture that connects one to a “place” through one’s own existence, has developed into a pictorial practice that takes on an existential quality. Matsuzaki’s approach draws the viewer into the depths of his work, leading them to observe the colors, lines, and shapes, while at the same time stimulating the viewer to look at the painting as material object represented by the physical presence of the work. In doing so, he encourages contemplation of the elements that constitute painting, further bringing to light the self-referential question of what painting is.

The exploration of food culture is another important factor that has influenced the artist. Turning his attention to anecdotes regarding seaweed farming in the Welsh region of the UK and the Ariake Sea, Matsuzaki, along with gaining insight into the differences in climate and geography between the UK and Japan, and differences in sensitivities to food and the historical background behind them, continues to engage in activities rooted in an awareness of ecosystems and circulation, such as organizing workshops where participants collect wild plants from their surroundings which they use to cook meals with and create drawings using paints extracted from them.

Matsuzaki could indeed by seen as formulating a culmination of his artistic practice, which weaves together his perspective as a Japanese living in London and his perspective as a painter. The artist’s zine Wild Grass Forager #4, which will be released in conjunction with the theme of this exhibition entitled “Sediment,” will share more deeply his sensitive eye and thought processes regarding the environment and its surrounding conditions through his mudlarking activities in the River Thames. Along with Matsuzaki’s works currently on display at the exhibition “Layers of Accumulated Time: Depicting the world we live in” at the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, we welcome visitors to take this opportunity to witness the artist’s recent endeavors and achievements.