Asia NOW 2026: Booth G01

20 - 24 October 2026

  • JD Malat Gallery is pleased to present works by Sophie Yen Bretez, Masayoshi Nojo, Lu Xinjian, and Lee Sangwon at Asia NOW Paris Asian (Booth G01) in a dialogue on perception, memory, and constructed reality across contemporary painting practices. Through distinct visual languages and techniques that reimagine historical traditions through contemporary interpretations, the artists transform familiar realities into settings that reveal deeper emotional, psychological and collective dimensions.

  • Sophie-Yen Bretez, « We had once been three, I spent so long searching for us in the skies at night,... (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Masayoshi Nojo, Mirage#128 , 2026 (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Lu Xinjian, City DNA / Paris No. 6, 2026 (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Sophie-Yen Bretez, « We had once been three, I spent so long searching for us in the skies at night, only silence answered me. », 2026
  • Between Self and Surreal
    SOPHIE-YEN BRETEZ, « Beneath this vast July morning, we were learning all that lay within, the word rebirth. », 2026, Oil on Linen, 55 1/8 x 74 3/4 in, 140 x 190 cm

    Between Self and Surreal

    Sophie-Yen Bretez approaches these themes through the human figure, merging autobiography, fiction, and surrealist imagery to explore identity and resilience. Her dreamlike compositions operate in settings that integrate spatial boundaries, fusing the inner with the outer, reflecting transitional emotional states and vulnerability. Inspired by reflective poems that serve as starting points, Bretez’s tapestry-like paintings allow personal memories and imagined narratives to coexist, revealing the complexity of human experience.

  • Reimagining Tradition
    MASAYOSHI NOJO, Untitled , 2024, cotton on panel, acrylic, silver foil, aluminum foil, 41 3/8 x 31 1/2 in, 105 x 80 cm

    Reimagining Tradition

    Drawing on the legacy of Ogata Kōrin and the Rinpa school, Masayoshi Nojo reinterprets traditional Japanese techniques through a contemporary lens. Layering marbled acrylic surfaces with silver and aluminium foil through the meticulous process of silk-screen printing. Nojo captures the ancient, pristine forest landscapes of his homeland, creating imagery that shifts with light and movement, evoking stillness and contemplation while exploring the transience of memory.

  • Abstraction of the Urban Landscape
    LU XINJIAN, City DNA / Paris No. 6, 2026, Acrylic on canvas, 66 7/8 x 61 in, 170 x 155 cm

    Abstraction of the Urban Landscape

    Lu Xinjian translates aerial views of cities, borrowed from digital cartographic platforms, into abstract compositions of lines, shapes, and colours. With a foundation in graphic design, these elements continue to remain central to his works, allowing Lu to extract the underlying rhythms and structures of urban environments, in his renowned City DNA series.

  • Individual and the Collective
    LEE SANGWON, Floating People,  2025, Oil on canvas, 18 1/8 x 18 1/8 in, 46 x 46 cm

    Individual and the Collective

    Lee Sangwon depicts everyday scenes of leisure from elevated perspectives. Through textured brushwork and vibrant expanses of colour, he transforms swimmers, beachgoers, and other figures into patterns within panoramic landscapes, exploring the the pursuit of tranquillity and escape, and how shared moments of leisure shape collective memory and our understanding of contemporary society.

     

    Together, the presentation transforms depictions of physical environments and material forms into contemplative experiences, weaving together cultural heritage and lived experience, reinterpreting the relationships between individuals and their surroundings, as well as the individual and the collective.