Naotaka Hiro's latest paintings, on view at Bortolami gallery in New York through November 1, were inspired by a harrowing experience seven years ago when he discovered a stranger living in the crawlspace beneath his Los Angeles home. Hiro now creates his works by lying supine with his canvas suspended just 13 inches above his body—the exact height of that crawlspace—often cutting holes through the canvas and wrapping it around himself with ropes to paint from all angles. The resulting abstractions, filled with forms resembling plants, fish gills, and veins, function as a 360-degree body scanner and a form of self-exploration.
This exhibition matters because it highlights Hiro's unconventional, body-centered approach to abstraction, which has earned him a cult reputation in Los Angeles and growing recognition beyond. His work has been acquired by the Museum of Modern Art in New York, shown alongside Joan Mitchell, and featured in the Hammer Museum's Made in L.A. biennial and the Mori Art Museum's Roppongi Crossing survey. With his Tokyo-based gallery Misako & Rosen bringing his work to Art Basel Paris, Hiro's distinctive practice is gaining international visibility, challenging conventional notions of painting and the artist's relationship to the canvas.