Hoffman Donahue is pleased to present new paintings by Satoshi Kojima, the artist’s first solo exhibition in California. Kojima constructs his paintings from geometric structures that give rise to androgynous figures suspended within recurring architectural spaces: subway platforms, tunnels, train tracks, and abstract Op-Art fields. A newly restrained black-and-white palette evokes precolor cinema, while subtle pastel hues tint the scenes with nearly imperceptible brushwork. The works in this exhibition constitute a culmination of Kojima’s Underground series, which the artist began in 2023. In these recent works, the compositions grow denser. Kojima’s figures appear freeze-framed mid-performance, charged with a latent energy on the verge of release. Beneath the spectacle of urban nightlife, Kojima uses the underground to explore desire, displacement, and unstable identities. These paintings suggest a world in which the subconscious is not passive, but actively shaping perception. A quiet dissonance runs through the work, pointing toward an ongoing process of soul-searching toward transformation.
