Hombroich 2000

This is Hombroich by Katsuhito Nishikawa, and I reckon it's made with something subtle, like diluted ink or very light washes of paint. At first, the painting looks like nothing. It seems to whisper, not shout. But stay with it, and the subtle variations will become apparent. I imagine Nishikawa layering again and again, each layer almost invisible, yet contributing to the whole. What would it be like to spend so long on a painting that almost disappears? It reminds me of Agnes Martin’s delicate grids or even some of Robert Ryman’s white paintings. Each artist is creating a world that hovers between presence and absence. The gesture here isn’t about bravado or drama but about quiet persistence. Nishikawa is in conversation with other painters, a shared exploration of what it means to create meaning out of almost nothing. It embraces the ambiguity, uncertainty, and multiple readings of painting.