Today we’d like to introduce you to Motoko Yasue.
Hi Motoko, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I’m a Houston-based artist known by my nickname “Moto.” These days, I’ve been busy preparing for my solo exhibition titled “One’s Spirit beyond the Portal,” scheduled for October 2026 at the Houston Jung Center.
A native of Japan, I’ve developed my artistic skillset and career here in Houston since my passion for studying painting brought me to the U.S. in 2012. Since then, I’ve pursued fine arts studies majoring in painting at the Glassell School of Art and earned an AA degree in Studio Art with the highest honors at Houston Community College, followed by an MFA in Studio Arts at Houston Christian University (HCU) in 2021.
I’ve been invited to juried group exhibitions locally and internationally, including in Japan, with solo exhibitions throughout Texas. My art has been widely exhibited at area museums, corporate offices, and galleries in Houston. I’ve also exhibited my work in New York City and California. My artworks are part of the permanent collection at the HCU Fine Arts Museum and in a traveling 9/11 Memorial exhibit operated by a New York-based art organization. My paintings and 3-D works are held in private collections across the U.S. and Japan.
I dedicate myself to creating artworks on commission and for future exhibitions. My portfolio currently includes oil painting, watercolor, and small sculpture work, and I’m currently an Artist in Residence at Art Museum TX in Sugarland, Texas.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Life fluctuates between good times and difficult ones.
Adapting from twenty years in the corporate world in Japan to now living as an independent artist, almost 7,000 miles from my home country, hasn’t been easy. I’ve had so much to learn — not just painting, but also navigating an entirely different lifestyle. In Tokyo, I never had to drive to school or work; I used mass transit and spent my subway commutes reading books. In Houston, I obviously can’t read while driving.
The biggest challenge, though, came during graduate school, when the COVID pandemic hit. The school closed, and exhibitions and classes moved online. All I could do was keep my head up and stay positive. I focused on working hard at my studies and my painting. The virtual classes saved me on commuting costs and turned my old commuting time into painting time. I believe I made it through that tough period, staying focused and positive. In addition, I appreciate the support of my friends and professors at graduate school.
I always found that in life, staying positive makes all the difference.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I say, “Works of art should be unique. Your art reflects who you are.”
My art portfolio includes oil painting, watercolor, and small glass sculptures with resin. All of my work is themed around abstract landscapes that elucidate my obsession with color, intermingling aesthetics from my home country with my global experiences. My work illustrates both nature and human life, fueled by my imagination, memories, dreams, and life experiences.
I specialize in painting and love both oil painting and watercolors. Interestingly, most of my oil paintings reflect somewhat the essence of watercolor at a glance, in spite of the fact that I most admire the technique of Vincent van Gogh’s painting style, wherein he used a technique involving a thick oil paint application, impasto. It might be because that I learned painting under great mentors who loved watercolor, both at my graduate school and at art school.
“Motoko Yasue’s art is lush and deep with spiritual content where eastern and western forms collide, resulting in rich spiritual associations in her watercolors, paintings, and sculptures. Her art balances the figurative in luminous abstraction, elevating the viewer’s experience toward the heavens. Her lush works clearly connect fine traditions of both eastern and western civilizations.” — Michael Roque Collins, Artist/ Professor Emeritus at HCU.
I’m most proud of my fantastic network of professors, mentors, friends, and supporters I’ve developed over the past 14 years in Houston and around the world. I believe my life’s legacy is reflected in my work, depicting my family, my culture, my education, my global travel, my profession in the corporate financial world, and my personality — with my dedication to doing what I love.
All of these life experiences and influences, I feel, illustrate and distinguish my artwork.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
I was a focused, curious, and daydreaming child and always excelled academically in school. I grew up in the suburbs of Tokyo as an only child until my brother was born six years after me. While I was a social child, I enjoyed playing outdoors with my friends, but I also loved spending rainy days alone.
There are two rainy seasons a year in Tokyo. Unlike here, I walked 30 minutes to school each day when I was in second grade. On my way home on rainy days, I found shallow puddles with a small drop of oil — most likely from a vehicle — on the pavement. I would watch the shifting iridescent colors and shapes on the surface of the water for hours, moving from one puddle to another, never quite realizing how much time had passed. I recall one rainy afternoon, my mother grew worried and came looking for me on the street when I hadn’t come home yet from school.
It was a strange habit, but I continued with this fascination for years. The memories of “shifting colors” on the water remain with me and drive my desire to paint. As a kid, I was not multi-tasked, but I also believe that this singularly focused trait is part of what drove me to pursue the study of art later in life.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://motokoyasue.wixsite.com/myart/home
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/motokogloriayasue
- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/motoko-yasue-artist
