Junko Matsumoto

Jakumetsu I: 6'3x1'6.5, 2010, Sumi ink on paper 

Jakumetsu II: 4'6x1'3, & III: 4'6x1'3, 2010, Sumi ink on paper.

Junko Matsumoto's relationship with 'sho' (East Asian Calligraphy) sprouted first in kana (Japanese syllabic characters). However, her recent works are not born from any type of 'sho' style, traditional or otherwise. They are far from the Academism found in the 'sho' that is taught at universities, and focus instead on drawing a single line. That she is not affiliated to any group or society that promotes or maintains a certain 'sho' style is felt to be the main reason for her independence of style. It is her feature and persistently communicates itself as such.

Matsumoto gropes and searches with the touch of her brush for the accidental chance-like element that instigates a feeling of fun and interest within us. In writing the conflict between emotion and will twists and contorts her as 'sho' secretes from within. Also when she makes the spirit of kanji (Chinese characters) or sumi (Indian ink) the motif of her work, she brings out the interposing beauty between the white and black that is at its base. She never constructively contrasts the two elements, but instead catches instinctively that perilous and ephemeral moment when all is about to collapse and be lost. It is nothing more than a sense. Her physical being seems to be simultaneously receiving and sending. In communication with an ever-changing providence that is out there somewhere. Junko Matsumoto was born in 1951. She graduated from Tokyo Educational University in 1975.