Steatment
Traces Left by Breath
I create my work from traces left by breath—an invisible bodily act—layering color and movement onto the surface.
As I paint, I attend to the rhythm of my breath and the movements of my body as they emerge in each moment, allowing their traces to remain.In the quiet act of attending to my breath, I move between what arises by chance and what I choose consciously. Through the accumulation of these traces, I explore spaces where stillness and a quiet sense of presence meet.A light breath and a deep breath can reveal entirely different landscapes, even when we stand in the same place. Through variations in color, brushwork, and the density of the surface, I paint the landscapes left behind by different rhythms of breath.For me, painting is an act of confirming the time in which I am alive. Existence is not fixed; it is continually changing. I follow the subtle presences, spaces, and fleeting moments that emerge within this ongoing transformation, allowing them to settle onto the surface.And there is something I long to touch—something I cannot yet name or fully understand.I hope that the breath and presence that truly existed in a particular moment may quietly resonate with each viewer’s own memories and sensations.Into a world simply felt.
Profile
Yukari KATAOKA
Born in Hiroshima, Japan, in 1982, Yukari KATAOKA began studying Japanese calligraphy at the age of four, developing an early sensitivity to gesture, rhythm, and the physicality of the brush.She spent seven years working as a wedding planner, accompanying people through significant moments and transitions in their lives, before working for thirteen years as a women’s footwear designer. Through footwear design, she developed a deep understanding of the relationship between the human body, movement, materials, form, and function.She began painting in 2012, initially through pencil and freehand drawing. Her practice grew from an intuitive engagement with line and bodily movement, gradually becoming an exploration of breath, presence, and the traces left by the body.Since 2024, she has pursued her artistic practice in earnest. Working primarily with color and line, she explores fleeting states of presence and the subtle sensations that emerge through the body, mind, and passage of time.Her work moves between the physical and the intangible, attending to what remains after a moment has passed.
Exhibitions
2024.9. Maru Arts Open Call Exhibition, Kobe, Japan2024.10. ART Shopping Paris, Paris, France2025.10. Maru Arts Open Call Exhibition, Kobe, Japan2026.8. heallie2608 Group Exhibition, Between Gallery, Tokyo, Japan2026 .11. 20-25 .Delta Matter, Spazio Milesi, Milan, Italy
Art is born from encounters.
Where image, space, sound, and body meet.
A collaboration with pianist Margin B. Alexander’s performance, “Inside the Piano Gallery.”
Selected Galleries & Platforms
MARIYUME BOOKS
A picture-book world created by Yukari KATAOKA.
As part of my creative work, I also create picture books.
Available on Amazon Kindle.
Your purchase helps support me in continuing my creative work.