Masa Iida is a Zen Abstract painter and Singer/songwriter from Yokohama, Japan, living and working in London.

Masa Iida

Zen abstract painter/singer-songwriter from Yokohama, Japan based in London.

My mission is creating music and painting where Japanese aesthetics and Western aesthetics express sublime harmony.

The Passion Of The Seaweed

Acrylic on Paper A2 (42.0 x 59.4 cm - 16.5 x 23.4 in)

| Portfolio |

| Exhibitions |

Filemed in The Regents Park in one lazy afternoon.

Recorded at home while London was under Lockdown.

Artists Statement (for painting)

I’m a strong believer that the truth lies beyond duality.

My goal of creation is going beyond duality.

Not love or hate nor good or bad. Something beyond them.

Duality in painting is adding and subtracting.

Adding comes from putting brush marks on paper and subtracting comes from a space where no brush marks exist.

I want to create a superb balance between brush marks and a blank space where no brush marks exist. For me both elements are equally important.

Brush marks won't exist without empty space and empty space is not recognisable without brush marks.

Once this materialised, the painting will be visible but at the same time invisible.

The painting you can see and you can't see at the same time.

It is like you can't hear anything when you hear two sounds whose sound waves are totally opposite to each other because the sounds are canceling each other out.

There are sounds but you can't hear them.

This applies to my painting. A painting which you can't see but stays vividly in your mind.

Artist Statement (for music )

The silence is the key ingredients for my music.

Not just notes…but a space between the notes is what I’m also focus on.

And words … not many words. Simple plots for how I feel..

I'm deeply influenced by Haiku Poetry. I just drop words in an empty blank space to create lyrics.

- Click the links below for more details -

Masa Iida

O-ARC (with Neil Mason )

Gig info

Personal History

1996

Arrived London UK to pursue music career.

1999

First solo acoustic gig at Lock Tavern in Camden Town.

2003

First EP Life Is Upside Down is released from Pogo Music.

2007

Formed a duo O-ARC with London-born guitarist Neil Mason who has been playing with Masa since EP’s recoding session.

They created highly original sound collage like songs with just using three elements: voice, acoustic guitar ,and electric guitar.

They played at unique art related spaces like Tate Britain, Institute Of Contemporary Arts Whitechapel Gallery , Art Car Boot Sale at Brick Lane, Leyden Gallery, Comme des Garcon’s boutique Dover Street Market.

2011

The first album En is released from Weast Music.

4 of the songs from the album is used for TV series Hollyoaks

2015

Started creating brush storke based abstract paintings to add new images for O-ARC

2017

Acquired a representation by Toukou Gallery who specializes in a master potter Hiroyoshi

Hamamoto's pottery

2018

His first interview was featured in webzine Chom Magazine by Chrom Art which supports

emerging artists

www.chromart.org/live-the-moment-masa-iida-interview/