An Artist Who Doesn't Impose Meaning
For example, imagine a writer who imbues their "work" with a strong assertion or a clear message, putting it front and center. RYOTA's works, however, seem to stem from a different starting point than such clear message-giving. Instead of creating meaning, he engages with colors and forms, leaving room for something to arise within the viewer. At first glance, his style appears light and somewhat detached. But after speaking with him, one realizes that beneath the pop aesthetic lies a deep, firm core that cannot be easily put into words. His journey has included a period of withdrawal immersed in games, a sense of discomfort with his first university, a turning point during an overseas trip, and then new learning experiences and a creative environment in Milan. RYOTA's expression has not followed a straight career path, but has gradually taken shape through numerous detours.

Discovering the Entrance Through Detours

After graduating from high school, he did not immediately pursue a path in art or other artistic fields. His love for games led him to withdraw and spend time engrossed in them, only later enrolling in university. However, he found no joy or pleasure at his first university, and he recounts working at a shisha bar in Shimokitazawa while searching for a place where he belonged. A turning point came in 2013 with a trip to Amsterdam, Netherlands. Interacting with people who were making a living by creating something with their own hands made him realize, "Perhaps I should do more of what I love."

By 2014, he was studying communication design at Keio University's Shonan Fujisawa Campus. Immersed in a creative context, RYOTA ironically felt an increasing sense of discomfort with "creating for a purpose." Design inherently involves the "why" before colors, shapes, or movements, playing a crucial role. "I started to feel constrained by the need to forcibly create answers to this 'why?'" RYOTA recalls. He couldn't resist the feeling of unease when he would read the explanatory text next to a piece in a museum and feel like he understood it. He wondered, what if he could simply create something without preparing meaning beforehand? This thought, and his deliberate attempt to create "meaningless things," became the starting point of his current activities.

When Meaninglessness Becomes Someone's Value

A symbolic example is the mixed-media work he created as his graduation project. Using discarded materials and leftovers, he exhibited small pieces with as little special meaning as possible to himself. A German visitor, who happened to be there, bought one, saying, "I'd like it as a souvenir." RYOTA says, "It was interesting that something I considered meaningless had value, yet for someone else, it became something worth paying for."

The act of "painting," which connects to his current style, was also a method naturally chosen within his environment rather than born from a strong concept. In 2022, RYOTA married and moved to Italy with his partner, where he began creating in a shared studio in Milan. Within those constraints, he needed a method that would not inconvenience others, which led to his current style of layering colors. His individuality is also evident in his approach: instead of resisting limitations, he flexibly adapts and transforms them into a form that suits him.