Creating beauty out of nothing is one of the things that motivates Marico Murase, a Japanese modern artist who lives in Jeddah with her Saudi husband.
“Like a child who’s trying to catch a beautiful butterfly and getting lost in the woods, I travel into my inner landscape searching for that butterfly,” she said.
Her paintings are composed not only of paint but also with pieces that she finds in the street or laying neglected somewhere in the house.
“I see beauty in everything that is around and I like to present that beauty so that it could be seen by people,” she said.
She said that she treasures humble beauty that people usually overlook.
“There are a lot of beautiful things in life that we neglect, but if presented in the right way, they can be so beautiful,” she said. She said that she usually starts by drawing thumbnails in a sketchbook, after that she draws roughly on a canvas and begins to paint, starting from the background. “I scratch, erase, paste materials and add thick brushstrokes to create original touches and senses of depth of the canvas,” she said.
Influenced at a young age by renowned abstract artists, Marico found herself attracted to modern art. She started exploring the world of art by completing her studies in Japan and the US, where she sharpened her artistic personality.
“Many artists have related and understood my art, but it was a bit hard for common people to relate to it,” she said.
She said that her art may look spontaneous to some people but it actually contains precise meanings. “My art work resembles personal feelings that can relate to individuals,” she said, adding that her work does not resemble certain political or social messages. Marico said that she gets inspired by happiness more than sadness.
“When I see something I like or have a good feeling about I simply get inspired,” she said. She said that when she discovered her love of art at a very young age, she was copying paintings of the famous Spanish Artist Miro.
“My father was an art lover, so he gave me all the support to continue this path in my life,” she said. In the beginning she learned about art and painting through books until she realized that her urge for art required more academic studies. After spending two years at a Tokyo-based art school, she wanted to continue in the US where modern pop art originated.
She studied for five years in Saint Francisco where she married her Saudi classmate, Ayman Al-Khateeb, who was also studying art at that time. She has been living in the Kingdom for the last two years where she has completed a lot of paintings. Marico, who has held a number of exhibitions in Japan and the US, is also planning an exhibition in Jeddah. “I hope people would appreciate my art in the Kingdom,” she said.
The exhibition will start next Monday and run through Oct. 23 at Jamjoom Mall in Al-Hamra district, where Marico will exhibit 40 paintings.