Masaya Yoshioka "The Staircase"
Minnano Gallery
Starts 5/28
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Artists
Masaya Yoshioka
This exhibition consists of a body of paintings based on a staircase that the artist constructed himself in his studio. The works were produced intensively in early 2026, resulting in a large number of paintings within a short period of time. Although all of the works depict the same staircase, each painting is realized as a distinct image through variations in composition, distance, and lighting conditions.
Yoshioka has consistently worked with specific motifs over extended periods. Born into a family of temple carpenters, he learned painting through repetition and copying within an environment where technical skills are acquired through iterative practice. The methods developed through this process continue to inform his current work, and the repeated treatment of similar compositions and subjects is a defining characteristic of his practice.
One example is his long-term engagement with the motif of the convenience store, which he has explored since the mid-2000s. Through years of sustained production, a group of landscape paintings depicting convenience stores in regional areas was consolidated in 2025 under the title Fiftysix Convenience Stores.
These works do not present specific events or situations in a direct manner; instead, they engage the viewer’s memory and experience, prompting individual interpretations. A similar structure can be observed in the staircase paintings, where repeated images give rise to differing perceptions.
While the staircase paintings can be understood as an extension of Yoshioka’s ongoing practice, the intensity of their production over a short period and the particular nature of the staircase as a motif have also extended beyond the artist’s studio. This has led to the emergence of related interests, as well as works and exhibitions that respond to this motif.
This exhibition returns to the stage prior to such developments, focusing on the initial phase in which the staircase paintings began to take form. It presents, within a single space, the differences generated through repetition over a short period of time and the changes that emerge through their accumulation.
Yoshioka has consistently worked with specific motifs over extended periods. Born into a family of temple carpenters, he learned painting through repetition and copying within an environment where technical skills are acquired through iterative practice. The methods developed through this process continue to inform his current work, and the repeated treatment of similar compositions and subjects is a defining characteristic of his practice.
One example is his long-term engagement with the motif of the convenience store, which he has explored since the mid-2000s. Through years of sustained production, a group of landscape paintings depicting convenience stores in regional areas was consolidated in 2025 under the title Fiftysix Convenience Stores.
These works do not present specific events or situations in a direct manner; instead, they engage the viewer’s memory and experience, prompting individual interpretations. A similar structure can be observed in the staircase paintings, where repeated images give rise to differing perceptions.
While the staircase paintings can be understood as an extension of Yoshioka’s ongoing practice, the intensity of their production over a short period and the particular nature of the staircase as a motif have also extended beyond the artist’s studio. This has led to the emergence of related interests, as well as works and exhibitions that respond to this motif.
This exhibition returns to the stage prior to such developments, focusing on the initial phase in which the staircase paintings began to take form. It presents, within a single space, the differences generated through repetition over a short period of time and the changes that emerge through their accumulation.
Schedule | May 28 (Thu) 2026-May 31 (Sun) 2026 Opening Hours Information
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| Fee | Free | ||
| Website | https://www.minnanogallery.com/masaya-yoshioka-staircase | ||
| Venue | Minnano Gallery https://www.minnanogallery.com/ | ||
| Location | 2F, 4-14-3 Higashi Ueno, Taito-ku, Tokyo 110-0015 | ||
| Access | 3 minute walk from the Iriya exit of JR Ueno Station, 5 minute walk from exit 3 at Inari-cho Station on the Ginza line. | ||
| Phone | 03-6268-9658 | ||
| Related images | Click on the image to enlarge it  |
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