Keita Morimoto Captures Urban Nightscapes in To Nowhere and Back

Influenced by the chiaroscuro of Dutch Golden Age portraitists and the dramatic angels and lighting of 20th century Realists, Morimoto expertly works with light and shadow, painting city buildings, wiring, and neon signage in enthralling detail, creating liminal narratives infused with an unexpected wonder.

"Showing in New York this year is an exciting opportunity to expand on the current themes I’ve been exploring—urban solitude, fleeting moments of escapism, and the way light shapes our subjective experiences of our world,” Morimoto explains. “It’s also a place that holds deep personal significance for me. It was in New York that I first encountered a vast collection of works by Edward Hopper and Rembrandt—artists who shaped my early fascination with figurative painting and cityscapes. Returning now feels like tracing the steps of those formative moments, reconnecting with the images and emotions that first drove me to paint."

Similarly to Edward Hopper, who powerfully captured the isolation and loneliness of modern urban life, Morimoto uses nighttime cityscapes to explore the space in between belonging and displacement, common to modern experience. 

Fascinated with the interplay of light and shadow, Morimoto uses light not only as a visual medium, but as a way to convey emotion, crafting narratives that bring the sublime into the ordinary. “The anonymous, liminal spaces in my paintings echo the feeling of never fully belonging,” he says. “I’m drawn to the way emotions can transform a familiar setting into something entirely different, revealing deeper truths about the human experience.”

Adeptly crafting poetic windows into city life, Morimoto captures the otherworldly neon-accented urban night with a fascinating array of vignettes:

The Way Back depicts a bird's eye view of a cat on a hilltop patio, framed by a web of utility wires, rooftops, and highrise windows gilded by the sunset in the background. 

In Stairs to Nowhere, a solitary pedestrian climbs down spiral stairs in some industrial building, half lit up by the faint green artificial light of sporadic spotlights. 

In Vermillion Night, a couple leans against a concrete guardrail, checking their phones, highlighted in red neon light. The yellow-white lights of the city skyline glow star-like against the stark night sky behind them. 

In Missed Calls, a lone figure wearing a baseball cap checks their phone, half-sitting against an orange inverted u-shaped bike rack, the orange echoed in the neon advertising sign behind them. 

In Green Room, a handful of shoppers–each encased in their own solitude– are lit up by the ambient glow of the ubiquitous striped red, green, and orange store signage during a late night shopping trip at an unearthly, yet familiar, convenience store. 

Unseen Passage depicts a tableaux at the corner of a paid parking area. A pensive figure in a weathered brown jacket stands in the foreground, while two people stand near a red vending machine selling multi-colored drinks on the opposite side of the street. The blue haze of settling dusk—punctuated by a row of streetlamps—contrasts with the orange glow of a passing car’s headlights.

Morimoto’s paintings are an invitation to remember that even in moments that feel isolated and unimportant, there is a fleeting beauty. We all share these experiences of contemplation and disassociation, which brings a sort of transcendent magic to these moments.

Almine Rech Partner & Director Ethan Buchsbaum says, "We are thrilled to present Keita Morimoto's paintings at Almine Rech New York. Keita's work masterfully bridges the classical and the contemporary, exploring themes of light, solitude, and urban life with a fresh and evocative perspective. Hosting this exhibition at our TriBeCa space was thus a natural choice for us. Keita's ability to capture the poetic beauty in the everyday resonates deeply with our vision of showcasing artists who push boundaries and provoke thought. We are honored to introduce his vision to our New York audience."