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The presence of Asian artists in London’s gallery scene is more noticeable than ever lately. At White Cube Mason’s Yard, Japanese artist Minoru Nomata is making his U.K. debut in the exhibition “Continuum,” on view through August 24, following a show at the gallery’s space in Seoul earlier this year.
Born in 1955, the Tokyo-based artist has spent the past four decades developing a unique visual language based on “imaginary architecture.” His meticulous, hyper-realistic paintings, like those on view in “Continuum,” look like mystical landscapes that range from fantastical and archaic to industrial and futuristic.
Continuum-12 depicts two mysterious spheres in the sea. Like an iceberg but decidedly rounder, the smaller mass floats on top while the larger shape is submerged beneath the water. They appear to connect with one another, but the horizon line conceals their true relationship—their tandem existence may be pure coincidence. The image looks calm at first glance, but the somber mood conjured by murky shades of green indicates the opposite.
Artist Minoru Nomata working in his studio. Courtesy of the artist.
According to the Artnet Price Database, Nomata’s works have only ever surfaced at auction in Japan. In 2022, FP7, which used a similar green color palette, set the artist’s auction record when it sold for $81,244 at Tokyo’s Mainichi Auction. That price was 950 percent more than the presale estimate.
Nomata is not the first established Japanese artist White Cube is promoting in London. Earlier this year, the gallery brought Yoko Matsumoto to London for the first time. The gallery noted that the presentation of these artists had a strong sales response.
“It clearly signals a continuing and broad trend in the global market for collecting similarly well-established Japanese artists,” said Irene Bradbury, a senior director and artist liaison at White Cube, noting that collectors in both Europe and the U.S. have been buying in equal measure, as have some Southeast Asian collectors