ZHONG CHENG

Born in 1964 in Okayama, Japan, Mayuka Yamamoto completed her master's degree at Musashino Gakuin University in 1990. Following her studies, she became a research fellow at the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs and traveled to the United Kingdom for further training until her return to Japan in 1999.

Throughout her career, Yamamoto has been known for her artwork depicting boys dressed as animals, with calm and enigmatic expressions. Her works predominantly feature soft and delicate pastel color tones, along with gentle, rounded brushstrokes that create endearing characters. In various aspects, including subject matter, color palette, and brushwork, her art is soothing, gentle, and cute.

Yamamoto's choice of young boys as her artistic subjects is attributed to her desire for an objective and non-influenced approach to her work. As a mother to a daughter, she felt that drawing girls might unconsciously be influenced by her real-life experiences. Therefore, the young boy character represents her ideal, one unaffected by the real world.

Starting in 1993, her works have been regularly exhibited in solo shows at the Tsubaki Gallery in Japan. She has also held recent solo exhibitions in the Netherlands, such as "Deer Boy and Other Children" in Amsterdam in 2007. Yamamoto has participated in group exhibitions, including the "Korean International Art Fair" from 2004 to 2007 and the "Young Japanese Painters" exhibition in Amsterdam in 2007.