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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 See You Again, the brushwork is free and loose, creating gestural marks woven into tangled nets of color. The artist combines light pink, crimson, orange, and yellow in an active dialogue and intentional engagement with the ground. The composition is punctuated by clustered brushstrokes of white, gray, and purple acrylic, offset by occasional blue and brown accents. Through layered applications of paint and diffuse blending techniques, Endo creates varied tones and textures. The combination of soft, gradual edges and sharp, defined ones, alongside variations in color and form, produce a sense of depth and dimension. Transitions between the warm hues and cool hues animate the colored ground and establish visually intense focal points in the center and corners of the canvas.