Nike sits at the window, seen from behind, looking out toward a vivid blue sky and sea. Large planes of color contrast with the muted ivory interior and deep green foliage. A small figure facing an open distance — this work carries a quiet sense of expectation. Nike sits at the window, seen from behind, looking toward a vivid blue sky and sea. Large planes of color contrast with the muted interior and deep green foliage. A small figure facing an open distance, this work carries a subtle sense of expectation and possibility. SERIES — FAMILIAR FAMILIAR reimagines an everyday companion not as a conventional pet portrait, but as interior art. The model is Nike, a gray-and-white cat. Rather than reproducing fur in fine detail, the series combines broad color fields, weathered brushwork, plants, circles, rectangles, and negative space (ma — the Japanese concept of meaningful empty space), allowing the cat's presence to merge with the atmosphere of a room. Built on warm ivory, the palette shifts through mustard, terracotta, navy, deep green, and blue-gray across each work. From a distance, color and composition come first; up close, Nike's gaze, posture, and quiet personality emerge. Across ten scenes, FAMILIAR explores the understated richness of a presence that is always near. FAMILIAR reimagines an everyday companion not as a conventional pet portrait, but as interior art. The model is Nike, a gray-and-white cat. Rather than reproducing fur in fine detail, the series combines broad color fields, weathered brushwork, plants, circles, rectangles, and negative space, allowing the cat's presence to merge with the atmosphere of a room. Built on warm ivory, the palette shifts through mustard, terracotta, navy, deep green, and blue-gray. From a distance, color and composition come first; up close, Nike's gaze, posture, and quiet personality emerge. Across ten scenes, FAMILIAR explores the understated richness of a presence that is always near. ABOUT RITSUKO NISHIMURA Ritsuko Nishimura creates work from traces of light, air, silence, and the small presences that linger in everyday life. Her practice draws on generous negative space, restrained composition, layered color fields, and brushwork that evokes scraping, texture, and depth — with a commitment to stopping before the image becomes overworked. Her guiding theme is Light. Air. Silence. Moving between abstraction and representation, she aims to create work that can live quietly in an interior while retaining a clear and lasting presence. Ritsuko Nishimura creates work from traces of light, air, silence, and the small presences that remain in everyday life. Her practice uses generous negative space, restrained composition, layered color fields, and brushwork that suggests scraping, texture, and depth, with an emphasis on stopping before the image becomes overworked. Her guiding theme is Light. Air. Silence. Moving between abstraction and representation, she aims to create work that can live quietly in an interior while retaining a clear and lasting presence.