「Portrait no.85」116.7×116.7×6cm　Acrylic on canvas 「Portrait no.86」72.7×72.7×6cm　Acrylic on canvas 「Portrait no.87」72.7×72.7×6cm　Acrylic on canvas 「Portrait no.88」72.7×72.7×6cm　Acrylic on canvas

This exhibition explores the theme of “deconstructing and reconstructing memory,” and is structured around three key elements: fragment, blur, and remain.

Memory is never preserved in a complete and intact form. Instead, it emerges in fragments, with emotions and attachments residing within individual pieces, while layers of memory gradually accumulate over time, accompanied by temporal displacements and ambiguity.

In Azusa Nozawa’s paintings, images do not appear as fixed forms with clearly defined contours or meanings, but rather as traces that are fading, overlapping, and partially absent. The figures depicted do not point to any particular narrative or subject; instead, they remain on the canvas as presences and afterimages lingering within memory. Her works evoke a sense of loss, while at the same time conveying a quiet gaze toward what still remains.

Her artistic approach treats lines and planes, boundaries and blank spaces, as equal elements. By making the contours of forms uncertain, she unsettles the very boundaries of existence. Lines that should define boundaries appear as empty spaces, or dissolve into the surrounding planes, revealing a way of being liberated from fixed identities. The background is not merely empty space, but functions as a “place” where memories settle and time accumulates, creating an atmosphere in which quiet sorrow and a faint sense of hope coexist.

In the works presented in this exhibition, Nozawa returns once again to the “Sticker Bomb” technique that she has employed in her practice, bringing together and accumulating fragmented images. However, the technique itself is not the purpose. Rather, it serves as a structural framework through which she visualizes the movement of memory as it emerges, wavers, and continues to linger.

“Still Fragment” invites us to look closely at that which, though seemingly on the verge of disappearing, is still undeniably “here,” and offers a space in which viewers can quietly confront their own memories.

This exhibition is presented as the second chapter of Nozawa’s solo exhibition “Still Fragment,” held in March of this year for the first time in two years. In this exhibition, a large selection of smaller works has also been prepared so that more visitors can enjoy and acquire her works.

We sincerely hope that you will take this opportunity to experience the exhibition.
We look forward to welcoming you.

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🔶Azusa Nozawa

“I paint the traces of emotions that are slowly fading away.”

In a contemporary world where memory, perception, and our sense of existence are constantly shifting, Nozawa seeks to preserve ambiguous, fragmented sensations and elusive traces on the canvas through a unique layered process of repeatedly drawing and erasing—painting, scraping, blurring, concealing, and painting over again.

In recent years, she has held solo exhibitions primarily in Tokyo and has presented her work both in Japan and internationally, including in Hong Kong, Taipei, and Paris. Her works are held in private collections in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Taipei, Shanghai, London, Paris, Barcelona, Boston, and other cities.

Born in Shizuoka, Japan, in 1994.
Graduated from the Department of Painting, Oil Painting Major, Faculty of Fine Arts, Tokyo University of the Arts in 2019.
Currently based in Tokyo.