Ken Matsubara
Moon, no thought of reflection. Water, no thought of reflecting.
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First snow in open hands.
Gardenia in June.
The scent after summer rain.
The trembling wings of a dragonfly. A wave touching my feet.
Watching the wind.
Listening to clouds.
Before words take shape.
A moment seeps deep within, then quietly melts away.
My work begins with the fleeting moment before words take shape.
These quiet moments seep deep within us and slowly become memory.
Rather than offering answers, my work gives form to questions that resonate with each viewer's own memories and sensations, opening the possibility of new experience.
– Ken Matsubara
Ken Matsubara (b. 1949 in Tokyo) is a Japanese artist who primarily works with video art. Moon, no thought of reflection. Water, no thought of reflecting. is Matsubara’s first solo exhibition in Finland. At Helsinki Contemporary, visitors will be able to experience a new site-specific video installation by the artist, as well as works combining objects and moving image.
Ken Matsubara’s work addresses memories and histories to which we can all relate, regardless of our backgrounds. Matsubara is interested in how memory can extend beyond individual experience, resonating across generations and different cultures. His understated and meditative works reflect on time and the transience of being, as well as the invisible forces and collective memory invested in objects.
Ken Matsubara has held solo exhibitions and participated in museum shows in Japan and internationally since the 1980s. His works are in major collections in Europe, USA, and Asia.
His works are currently on view also in EMMA Espoo Museum of Modern Art’s exhibition In Search of the Present: On Rootlessness, on view until February 2027.