Rivage 

Curator: Before us we have "Rivage" by Toko Shinoda, crafted using mixed media, specifically tempera and printmaking techniques. Its subtle monochromatic palette makes it a compelling work. Editor: There's a definite graphic sensibility here; I’m immediately drawn to how Shinoda balances stark black shapes against textured grey forms. The process must have involved careful layering, stencil work perhaps. Curator: The composition absolutely speaks to the Japanese concept of "Ma," the conscious use of negative space. These voids aren't just empty areas; they’re active participants in the artwork. I see the influence of calligraphy, perhaps acting as stand-ins for kanji. Editor: Yes, I agree. That negative space gives real prominence to the material texture she achieves within each shape. Is that drag marks from a tool through the tempera while wet, creating striations? That contrasts the deliberate precision implied by stencil or block-printing parts of it. Curator: That very well could be. Looking deeper, those lines evoke wind patterns or even ripples on water – a subtle nod to natural forces, aligning with Zen sensibilities, a dialogue between chaos and control. Consider too that Rivage translates to 'shore.' Editor: So that connects strongly to Shinoda’s careful consideration of the paper itself, its materiality. Printmaking forces this relationship – paper accepts the ink, but the paper also resists. Thinking about it, how might this piece comment on rapid post-war reconstruction reshaping coastlines and material realities? Curator: A fascinating proposition! Shinoda seems to embrace traditional techniques, updating them with Abstract Expressionist flair to express modern consciousness. Here, geometry contains emotion; restraint amplifies meaning. It becomes a meditation. Editor: This interplay is fantastic. By foregrounding the techniques – print, line, even the void – it subtly directs our awareness back to our own act of looking, our own ways of making meaning out of discrete marks. Curator: I'll carry away a lingering appreciation for how skillfully Toko Shinoda prompts consideration for less. Editor: Agreed, the process highlights our interpretation as key, rendering any ‘final’ meaning perpetually open, shaped in part by materials at hand and their capacity for transformation.