We are pleased to present the group exhibition “Intervals: Extraction” featuring works by Sanghoon Ahn, Naoko Matsumoto, and Naosuke Wada, held at TEZUKAYAMA GALLERY VIEWING ROOM. This exhibition is part of a collaborative project organized by KOKI ARTS (Tokyo), TEZUKAYAMA GALLERY (Osaka), and Gallery Chosun (Seoul). It is a traveling exhibition series taking place in each of the galleries’ respective cities.

The first exhibition, “Intervals: Distance,” took place at KOKI ARTS in Tokyo at the end of last year. This second edition, “Intervals: Extraction,” travels to TEZUKAYAMA GALLERY in Osaka.

For this series, each gallery has selected one artist engaged in abstract painting from among the representative artists. Across three exhibitions, their works have been and will continue to be presented in various contexts. While the installments are connected as a series, each one is independently curated by the hosting gallery’s director, with unique themes and exhibition designs. This approach is a key feature of the project.

The Osaka edition, “Intervals: Extraction,” focuses on the mental process of extraction—the act of distilling essential elements from the visible world or introspective sensations. Here, “extraction” does not merely imply the removal of figurative or representational aspects. Instead, it refers to a continuous process of carefully filtering, selecting, and reconfiguring visual, sensory, and conceptual elements.

The participating artists Sanghoon Ahn, Naoko Matsumoto, and Naosuke Wada each respond to the theme of “extraction” from their perspectives, employing different techniques and interests. Through this, they reconsider the very framework of painting as a form of expression.

By exploring their distinct approaches, one can encounter the invisible layers of thought and time hidden behind the selected forms, colors, and structures.

What emerges is not merely a reduction to visual elements such as form and color, but rather an accumulation of traces—sensations, memories, perceptions, corporeality, and perhaps even existential inquiries themselves.

Furthermore, this series seeks to present abstract painting not as a static object, but as a dynamic receptacle for perception and awareness, constantly in flux and transformation. How do the three artists, through processes of extraction (or subtraction), embed silences or distances within their works? The title “Intervals” does not refer to empty spaces between things, but to the very interstitial spaces—the tensions, relationships, and pauses—that arise between the act of making and the thinking behind it, or between artwork and viewer.

Through this exhibition, we hope to offer a contemplative space where the practice of abstract painting can be reconsidered as a quiet yet profound inquiry into how we relate to and renew our connection with the world.