Born in the idyllic seaside town of Tottori in 1990, Japanese artist Yukimasa Ida's gestural paintings focus on the concept of 'Ichi-go Ichi-e' — a once-in-a-lifetime encounter. The term itself is a cultural idiom, describing the concept of an unrepeatable moment in life. The current series, End of today, acts as daily journals reflecting the artist's exploration into his central concept:
“My series of small portraits are like picture diaries to me and it’s a lifework. I make it a rule for me to paint one work per day when the date changes, between 11pm to 1am, that’s why I titled the series 'End of today'.” i
The concept emphasises both the beauty and cruelness of flowing time within a lifetime. Life itself very much equals the idea of 'Ichi-go Ichi-e'; it applies to the people we meet and the environments we live in: every person and place are constantly changing, moments fleeting.
Yukimasa Ida's works are in the famous personal collections of Yusaku Maezawa, Takashi Murakami, Leonardo DiCaprio and Jay Chou. Recent exhibitions include Cyrstallization (Tokyo, 2020) and Rhapsody (London, 2019), which included the current work. His most recent solo exhibition, Here and Now, opened June 26 at Mariane Ibrahim Gallery, Chicago, and closed August 14, 2021.