Composition 25 1958

George Joji Miyasaki made this artwork, Composition 25, with its muted palette and textured surface, through a dance of addition and subtraction. Imagine Miyasaki in the studio, layering thin washes of color, scraping back to reveal what lies beneath. Notice how the red marks hover on the surface, asserting themselves against the blues and grays. I love how the composition feels both deliberate and accidental. The colors are not quite representational, but evoke a landscape: sea, sky, land. It reminds me a little of Diebenkorn, but more spare. It’s like Miyasaki is searching for something, a feeling, a memory, a form that is just out of reach. This piece invites us to join him in the search, to bring our own experiences and associations to the canvas. And that’s what painting is all about, isn’t it? An invitation, a conversation across time and space.