Shuhei Matsuyama was born in Tokyo in 1955. After finishing his studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in his hometown, he moved to Italy in 1976 to take courses at the Academy of Art in Perugia. In 1991 he arrived in Milan and began an intense exhibition activity that took his works around the world, from Venice to Tokyo, from San Francisco to New York.
Of particular importance are the five SHIN-ON exhibitions presented in Venice over a 10-year period to coincide with the Venice Biennale. In France his works were used for the cover of the annual programme of the Conservatoire de Paris. Public space has also been and continues to be an important part of its business. Major works include the 5m high columnar sculpture in Hakata, Japan, and the mosaic fountain in Rieti. In addition to his works have also been used as a set-up in prestigious offices, hotels, apartments and restaurants, as in the president suit room of the Four Seasons Hotel in Saudi Arabia.
Man between two universes, Eastern and Western, blends the pictorial and spiritual experience together by creating works that synthesize two expressions: painting and sound for the stimulation of the senses.
Matsuyama’s work is inspired by Kandisky’s theories such as “color is an inner sound” but also reveals a deep connection with the expressive modes of Eastern culture. Starting from a philosophical intuition, Matsuyama paints the Shin-on, that is, the sound of things, that music that originates and expresses them.
