tree #9

This work is presented by YUGEN Gallery as part of its participation in "IWATAYA Life with Art 2026," in conjunction with the three-person exhibition "After Words, Outside Meaning" currently being held at YUGEN Gallery FUKUOKA. It explores a new relationship between words and imagery, focusing on how the shapes and meanings of characters alter the way we perceive objects and light.

Yoichiro Otani creates visual poetry through characters, finding new connections between their shapes, sounds, and meanings. The kanji characters accumulated on the canvas, while serving as symbols that convey meaning, transform into images that evoke landscapes and the presence of nature, drawing out the fluctuation that arises between seeing and reading.