An artist who explores life’s fundamental forces, examining humanity’s connection with the world, and seeking insight into the essence of living.

Moeko MACHIDA is an Aichi (Japan)-born artist who creates paintings under the prominent theme: the nature of life. Placing herself amid all phenomena surrounding lives, she carefully observes and perceives phenomena, thus meticulously putting them into images.

Raised by biologist parents, she has been familiar with matters surrounding vitality and has had a strong perception of emotions since an early age. Consequently, she had gotten overwhelmed by the spirits of the dead and the invisible existences surrounding her. It was her expressionist self that found a way to face those presences that she could not detach herself from.

The ideas she nurtured in studying Japanese painting and Butoh dance also have influences on her artistry. While studying at the Kyoto City University of Arts, she learned the Japanese painting method that places emphasis on sketching, through which she acquired an attitude of taking time to face the subject matter with serenity. She also started dancing in her childhood and studied Butoh eagerly during college, which led her to apply the Butoh-derived idea of the body as being amid phenomena surrounding lives to her work.

Her portfolio includes fusuma (sliding door) paintings for traditional Japanese houses, hotel room exhibitions, and solo shows in Japan and Italy. She has participated in residencies across Japan and Europe and, in 2023, moved to California, where she now showcases her work in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The pebble-like round aggregates that frequently appear in her paintings mirror how something in life exists and evolves, representing not only the living but also the dead. Her ultimate goal in creation is to be aware of the ways our senses and perceptions are, and thus share them with others through her work.