Erina Matsui
Erina Matsui
Born in Okayama, 1984.
For Erina Matsui, a self-portrait plays a significant role both as her communication tool and the most intimate motif to paint. Famously seen in “I Love Ebi-Chili!” (I love chili shrimps!), the gold prize winning artwork at GEISAI#6, her unforgettable “silly face” is the embodiment of desire to share various feelings and laughter with viewers through a close relation to build in the real world.
Since her debut, Matsui pushes boundaries in the expression of “self-portrait”, and the recent practice extends beyond her signature facial expression on canvas – also seen widely in a range of other series; “Recurrence to Classics” to make a connection to the western paintings inspired her to start working on oil paint in her youth with girl’s comics in a form of split frames, “Layers” to visualize emotional complexities of women living today, and “Mexican Axolotl”, a motif considered as her alter ego.
Her recent solo and group exhibitions internationally include ”KAMISHI By (picture-story show) Erina Matsui” (Okayama Prefectural Museum of Art, Okayama, 2020), “Planet of the Faces” (Kirishima Open-Air Museum, Kagoshima, 2016), “Mirror Neuron TAKAHASHI COLLECTION” (Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery, Tokyo, 2014), “Road Sweet Road” (Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin, 2013), “Sunrise Erina” (Ohara Museum of Art, Okayama, 2012), and “J’en reve” (Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, Paris, 2005).
Public Collection
Takamatsu Art Museum, Kagawa, Japan
Ohara Museum of Art, Okayama, Japan
Okayama Prefectural Museum of Art, Okayama, Japan
Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, Paris, France
KOLON GROUP, South Korea
TAKAHASHI COLLECTION, Tokyo, Japan
Jean Pigozzi Collection, Switzerland
Moleskine Foundation, Milan, Italy