2025.10.02 - 10.26

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Exhibition Statement

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“NO BORDER LINE in Hong Kong” showcases the work of artist Shintaro Inoue, who uses lines as a modern, visual language to transcend the boundaries of traditional calligraphy. He liberates lines from the constraints of written characters, transforming them into a medium from which he interprets the world. From a young age, Inoue was deeply influenced by his mother, Makiko Inoue, a calligraphy master. Though he did not inherit her technical discipline, she nurtured his spirit, channeling calligraphy through colourful lines, to reflect a profound dialogue bridging Eastern and Western artistic traditions. 

 

Lines are the most essential brushstrokes in Shintaro Inoue’s works. They evoke the flow of air, the passage of time, and the pulse of life itself, transforming into vibrant, rhythmic visual poetry. Through a unique user of neon layering and dynamic linear movement, he constructs contemporary portraits of women embodying the spirit of Eastern calligraphy. They emerge gracefully between strokes and colors, charismatic and vividly present on the paper.

 

Eastern aesthetics often focus on using line to create form, using intangible to convey substance, and exploring the breathing rhythm of “ma” (間, interval) and “yohaku” (餘白, negative space). On the contrary, Western aesthetics have historically focused on volume and mass. Shintaro Inoue’s creations stand precisely on the intersection between these two aesthetic traditions, proposing a “borderless” ideal — not by eliminating differences, but fostering a dialogue through coexistence. His lines do not separate; they connect.

 

The name of the exhibition, “NO BORDER LINE in Hong Kong” thus carries a dual meaning: referring to both Inoue’s stylistic innovation, and as a timely message. In our current era of regional and cultural clashes, Shintaro Inoue’s work allows us to imagine a world where true borders are not geographical, but lie in our willingness to engage gently and openly with one another — to appreciate the lines that both distinguish and unite us as one.

 

As Shintaro Inoue’s debut exhibition in Hong Kong, this show is also an international conversation through the universal language of lines. With their moving, glowing, borderless energy, these works encourage viewers to contemplate the potential for unity in today’s fragmented world.