Rising manga artist and illustrator Kouichi Matsuda descends on Wish Less Gallery in Tabata with a new series of paintings inspired by visceral, sometimes grotesque, recollections of summer. With evocative imagery drawn from childhood mishaps, faded vacations and suburban melancholy, ‘Summer Memories…’ captures the sharp sting of memory through a lens of absurdity.
Born in Morioka, Iwate in 1994, Matsuda studied under legendary avant-garde manga artist Takashi Nemoto after moving to Tokyo. He made his debut in the cult magazine AX and gained widespread attention with his 2024 manga collection Unmei (Fate), marking him as one of the most distinctive voices in a new generation of Japanese mangaka.
As is evident here, Matsuda’s work is characterised by absurdist narratives and chaotic visual worlds that blend nostalgia with dark humour. His surreal depictions of Japanese society, ranging from bubble-era salarymen to rebellious ’90s gyaru, evoke a dreamlike collision between the past and a disordered, amoral future.
