'Y' (1996) - Painting

Ryuji Mitani

• Introduction

  I am 'Y' (1996) - Painting. A body bent into a letter, a shape caught between gesture and symbol. The figure is mine, but the meaning’s yours.

   

• Curator's Notes 

  In this gouache painting, a solitary figure bends their body into the shape of the letter “Y.” The surface, built up with textured brushstrokes in deep green, feels as physical as it is emotional—simultaneously expressive and restrained.

  Mitani once described the letter “Y” as representing anonymity, “just an ordinary person.” Here, that idea becomes visual language: the human form distilled to a simple, universal gesture. The painted body becomes both symbol and vessel, holding within it the complexity of everyday existence.

   

  'Y' was curated by Stevenson Aung

   

• Designer/Maker 

   

  Maker: Ryuji Mitani

   

  Designer: Ryuji Mitani

   

• Specifications

  Dimensions: 10.25" (w) x 1.6" (l) x 12.75" (h) or 260mm (w) x 41mm (l) x 324mm (h)
  

   

  Weight:  1.3 lb or 0.6 kg

   

  Materials: Gouache, Wood Board, Glass

   

• Details
  • Handcrafted in Matsumoto, Japan
    
  • Year of creation: 1996
  • Custom made frame
    
  • Signed by Ryuji Mitani
    
  • Created using gouache paint and glass on a chalk white painted wooden board base
    
  • One-of-a-kind hand-painted piece
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