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    Masakatsu Sashie’s Mysterious Spheres Hover Over Post-Apocalyptic Landscapes

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    “TOKI.” All images courtesy of Masakatsu Sashie, shared with permission

    Masakatsu Sashie’s Mysterious Spheres Hover Over Post-Apocalyptic Landscapes

    December 2, 2024

    Art

    Kate Mothes

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    Encircling eerie orbs, architectural elements and neon signs hover above urban landscapes and fields of detritus in Masakatsu Sashie’s oil paintings. His fantastical, post-apocalyptic scenes envision Earth “as a representation of the universe,” the artist tells Colossal.

    Sashie adds, “This led me to the idea of symbolically expressing the sphere. My inspiration came from designs that feature circles symbolically composed within rectangles, such as the Japanese national flag, Hanafuda cards, and mandalas.”

    “Phantasm (night)”

    Sashie begins by gathering images related to a theme, such as signage, aging buildings, or retro motifs. He works from his own photographs, in addition to images he finds online. Likening the composition to a two-dimensional assemblage, he then merges all of the shapes into floating globes, rendered in oil on canvas.

    Devoid of people, Sashie’s landscapes interrogate the nature of mass consumerism, waste, and aging infrastructure. Like some of sci-fi’s most iconic spaceships—think the Death Star from Star Wars—the illuminated spheres appear to run on inexplicable sources of energy, leaving their internal workings or possible inhabitants a total mystery.

    If you plan to be in Melbourne in May, Sashie’s work is slated for an exhibition at Outré Gallery, followed by another show in July at i GALLERY in Osaka. In the meantime, dive deeper into the artist’s imaginary worlds on Instagram.

    “Phantasm (day)”

    “Echo”

    “Concrete”

    “Shield”

    “Hall”

    “Boiler”

    “SYMBOL パ”

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      Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member and support independent arts publishing. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about contemporary art, help support our interview series, gain access to partner discounts, and much more. Join now!

       
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      Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member and support independent arts publishing. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about contemporary art, help support our interview series, gain access to partner discounts, and much more. Join now!

       
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      Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member and support independent arts publishing. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about contemporary art, help support our interview series, gain access to partner discounts, and much more. Join now!

       
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