






Ryoko Endo
Drift of Silence, 2025
Acrylic and charcoal on canvas
25 x 80 in
Copyright Upsilon Gallery
Further images
Signed and dated verso Ryoko Endo gestural abstract paintings are constructed with a controlled yet fluid mark-making, reminiscent of Japanese calligraphy. The artist layers exuberant marks, strokes, and dabs with...
Signed and dated verso
Ryoko Endo gestural abstract paintings are constructed with a controlled yet fluid mark-making, reminiscent of Japanese calligraphy. The artist layers exuberant marks, strokes, and dabs with a fluent touch. Endo’s paintings are built-up with opaque and translucent layers of acrylic paint; the varied thicknesses of brushstrokes and pigments create a striking dynamism. The artist’s lifelong study of chromatic relationships informs her bold approach to color and structure: her mentor Kaikuo Saito - a second-generation Abstract Expressionist, employed vibrant colors to create large, immersive canvases. Endo works at the juncture of meditative Sumi calligraphy and energetic Abstract Expressionism, producing saturated colorscapes that are both precise and expressive. Given the hybridity of the forms and traditions Endo channels, her work creates a visual experience that is simultaneously contemplative and charged, deliberate and spontaneous—loose in gesture yet anchored in formal discipline.
In Drift of Silence, two asymmetrically counterbalanced crescents of color orbit an off-center halo of pink and purple. The composition draws the eye toward its radiant core and outward toward the peripheral sweep of the surrounding forms. This dual movement invites the viewer to reflect on both the delicate chromatic interplay and the resonance of the negative space, heightening the sense of quiet dynamism that permeates the work.
Ryoko Endo gestural abstract paintings are constructed with a controlled yet fluid mark-making, reminiscent of Japanese calligraphy. The artist layers exuberant marks, strokes, and dabs with a fluent touch. Endo’s paintings are built-up with opaque and translucent layers of acrylic paint; the varied thicknesses of brushstrokes and pigments create a striking dynamism. The artist’s lifelong study of chromatic relationships informs her bold approach to color and structure: her mentor Kaikuo Saito - a second-generation Abstract Expressionist, employed vibrant colors to create large, immersive canvases. Endo works at the juncture of meditative Sumi calligraphy and energetic Abstract Expressionism, producing saturated colorscapes that are both precise and expressive. Given the hybridity of the forms and traditions Endo channels, her work creates a visual experience that is simultaneously contemplative and charged, deliberate and spontaneous—loose in gesture yet anchored in formal discipline.
In Drift of Silence, two asymmetrically counterbalanced crescents of color orbit an off-center halo of pink and purple. The composition draws the eye toward its radiant core and outward toward the peripheral sweep of the surrounding forms. This dual movement invites the viewer to reflect on both the delicate chromatic interplay and the resonance of the negative space, heightening the sense of quiet dynamism that permeates the work.