Published on occasion of the Nieves Exhibitions
at No.12 Gallery and Utrecht in Tokyo, April 2010

Born in Kobe in 1976, Masano Hirayama is a painter, drawer and performer based in Tokyo. His works are filled with black lines which, despite their simplicity, stimulate our consciousness or recognition. Masanao Hirayama, formerly known as HIMAA, says that he is not depicting specific objects but lets the viewer see what he/she wants to. Although his lines look like they are drawn with his intuition, he carefully draws the same image over and over again until he can eliminate his intention and the line becomes unconscious.