Minoru Nomata’s hand coloured lithographs emerge from Tokyo archive
White Cube presents thirty historic works by the Tokyo born artist, each transformed from monochrome print into singular pieces through layers of diluted acrylic paint applied decades after their initial creation.
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Minoru Nomata’s vision operates in the space between fixity and fluidity, between a single image and its infinite possibilities. White Cube now presents thirty hand coloured lithographs created by the Tokyo born artist between 1988 and 1998, works that have remained carefully stored in his archive until this moment. What distinguishes these pieces is the alchemy of their making: what began as monochrome prints were revisited by Nomata years later, transformed through successive layers of heavily diluted acrylic paint applied with deliberate restraint and precision.
The result is a body of work where no two impressions are identical. Beginning from the same lithographic plate, each edition becomes a singular object, its character shifting as colour moves across the surface. A pale celadon wash renders one version cool and contemplative, suffused with the quality of dawn light. The same composition in warm ochre and deeper tones suggests an altogether different time of day, a different season, a different emotional register. The architectural and structural forms that anchor each composition occupy these distinctly different worlds, their presence constant even as the atmosphere surrounding them transforms entirely.
Nomata himself describes his practice as fundamentally interrogative: ‘My art is a question itself. They are questions, not explanations.’ This approach animates these lithographs profoundly. Rather than offering resolution or declarative statements, the works invite contemplation, encourage the viewer to consider how colour and light shape perception, how the same visual fact can register as multiple truths.
The exhibition is presented as part of White Cube’s Prints and Multiples programme, available to view online until 2 February 2027. Individual works may be acquired directly through the gallery’s platform, making these historically significant pieces accessible to collectors and enthusiasts alike.
Imagery courtesy of White Cube (@whitecube).