REYKJAVIK.- i8 Gallery is hosting an exhibition of new paintings by Yui Yaegashi, which will be on view until 23 December. This is the artist’s second exhibition at i8 Gallery and opened with a public reception for the artist on 16 November.

Yui Yaegashi’s oil paintings are rooted in precision, with her distinct style of patterning resulting in reductive, layered works. Yaegashi’s compositions are carefully composed, with a focus on graphic lines, veiled strokes of paint, surface textures, and explorations of both symmetry and asymmetry. The artist has a systematic approach to painting, working in her signature small format and often limiting colour palettes. While precise, the paintings intentionally include elements of imperfection, which interrupt the restraint inherent to the artist’s method and highlight the nuances of her compositions.

Yaegashi does not conceive of exhibitions as a single body of work; instead, she maintains a rigorous daily dedication to painting, allowing for a continuity that spans her practice. She paints multiple works over the same period, fluidly working between paintings. The artist approaches her installations site-specifically and considers shows when physically on-site with her paintings in reaction to the space.

Yui Yaegashi (b. 1985, Chiba, Japan) lives and works in Tokyo. Yaegashi received a BA from Tokyo Zokei University's Department of Painting (2009) and her MFA from Tokyo Zokei University's Graduate School of Art and Design (2011). Her work is currently included in "Glass Tableware in Still Life," a group exhibition at the Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art in Japan. Earlier in 2023, the artist had a solo show at Keijiban in Kanazawa, Japan, and her work has been included in SCHMALTZ at Guimarães, Vienna, Austria; Particularities curated by Chris Sharp at X Museum, Shanghai, China; and in solo exhibitions at venues including Misako & Rosen, Tokyo, Japan, and Queer Thoughts, New York, USA. In Spring 2020, Yaegashi completed a self-directed residency in New York City supported by the Japanese Government's Department of Art and Culture.

i8 Gallery
Nichinichi-So: Yui Yaegashi
November 16th, 2023 - December 23rd, 2023