On September 6, American artist Maysha Mohamedi will debut a parade of effervescent new paintings at Pace Gallery’s radiant opening in Tokyo’s Azabudai Hills, on view through October 16.
The show’s enigmatic title, “Maysha Mohamedi: yesterday I was a tiny tube of toothpaste,” evokes the visionary’s masterful style of storytelling, where buoyant color and lyrical calligraphic abstraction ebbs and flows in symphonic fashion. An elegant replica of the artist’s studio sketchbook for the experiential show will be published by Pace Gallery with insightful words by writer Brain Dillon, rejoicing in Mohamedi’s first solo exhibition in Asia.
Maysha Mohamedi,
“Pseudonym,” 2024,
oil on canvas, 73″ × 101″ (185.4 cm × 256.5 cm), © Maysha Mohamedi,
courtesy Pace Gallery.
Pace Gallery Tokyo, Photo by Nacasa & Partners, courtesy Pace Gallery.
Mohamedi Sculpts Space and Time in Prolific Investigations
The intuitive, self-taught Mohamedi grew up in San Luis Obispo, California, and was educated as a neuroscientist before journeying into the realm of art and painting. Basing her practice in Los Angeles, the artist has cultivated a signature style of atmospheric abstractions, imparting her personal ideologies on the mysteries of life and its complex web of encounters.
Within the finer details of her paintings, unique elements abound, from energetic shapes to diverse colorways to otherworldly matter. Never shying away from luxuriant experimentation and the opportunity to unearth new possibilities, Mohamedi seemingly sculpts space and time in her prolific investigations in order to reveal organic yet unseen mysteries.
Maysha Mohamedi’s
sketchbook in her Los
Angeles studio; Photo by Jeff McLane, courtesy
the artist and Pace
Gallery.
Installation View, Group Presentation, Pace Tokyo, 2024; Photo by Nacasa & Partners, courtesy Pace Gallery.
Mohamedi’s Artworks are Visual Maps of Lavish Memory
Evocative titles such as Baby’s Breath (2024), Pseudonym (2024), The Horse that Predicts the Divorce (2024), A Woman from Wacko City (2024), and Software (2024), communicate the creative’s soulful artistry and whimsical play with language.
Beguiled viewers may traverse Mohamedi’s artworks like sensual, visual maps of lavish memory and verdant adventure, keeping close to her brisk gestures and harmonious palettes in search of buried treasure. The calm, the cruel, and the charismatic undulate throughout, facing a range of emotional, trademark geometric shapes with pure vigor. Drawing from a wealth of personal experiences, Mohamedi recalls universal, human truths through her abundant archive of enchanting shades of blue, yellow, red, and black, and green.
Maysha Mohamedi,
“Baby’s Breath,” 2024,
oil on canvas, 73″ × 101″ (185.4 cm × 256.5 cm), © Maysha Mohamedi,
courtesy Pace Gallery.
A Youthful Step into the Past Links Artist and Audience
The artist’s latest creations were stimulated by expressive diary writings which documented her experiences 20 years ago while working in Japan. Titles of works share abundant memories of the places and people that may have shifted the course of her life. Stepping back into a youthful realm of surreal meetings and unforgettable relationships in a thrilling new landscape is cathartic for both artist and audience, igniting a dialogue on the cosmic play of life and love throughout time.
Maysha Mohamedi,
“A Woman from Wacko City,” 2024, oil on canvas, 33″ × 28″ (83.8 cm × 71.1 cm); © Maysha Mohamedi, courtesy Pace Gallery.
Installation View, Group Presentation, Pace Tokyo, 2024; Photo by Nacasa & Partners, courtesy Pace Gallery.
