Makoto Fujii (b. 1984) creates works on the theme of “Japanese realism”, which is neither Japanese nor Western painting, and is at once new and nostalgic. Just as Impressionist painters were once inspired by Japanese ukiyoe and pioneered new expressions, Fujii is once again seeking a fusion of Japan and the West in the modern age. He chooses “water” as a motif to depict the shimmering formless things with oil paint, and continues to paint them because he is attracted by the fascination and figurative beauty of the way they change every time he paints them. It has become an important existence for the artist who aims to express the feeling of formless things that sway in the wind and change color depending on the light. I want to create works of art that will be treasured by people in the future, when they find them hundreds of years after my death, in a completely different language and culture. I want to express the universal strength that lies