In her Manila studio, painter Maria Taniguchi works in calm contrast to the bustle of the city outside. Over the past two decades, she has developed a painting practice centered on a recurring motif: a grid of hand-painted rectangles she often refers to as ‘bricks.’

At first glance, the paintings appear systematic, almost mechanical. In reality, they are the result of an intensely physical and time-consuming process. Taniguchi carefully draws the grid in pencil before filling each individual cell by hand, one by one. Through repetition, millions of these small units accumulate into compositions that record time, labor, and attention.

In this episode of ‘Meet the artists’, Taniguchi reflects on how this ongoing body of work began nearly two decades ago – and how she continues to see the paintings as part of a single evolving project. ‘The question that I ask myself is, “Am I painting a different painting each time, or am I painting the same painting each time?”’ she says in the film. 

This episode of ‘Meet the artists’ was produced in collaboration with Nowness.

Maria Taniguchi will be presented at Art Basel Hong Kong by ROH (Jakarta) in the Kabinett sector, which features thematic focused projects by both established and emerging artists. She is also represented by carlier | gebauer (Berlin, Madrid) and Taka Ishii Gallery (Tokyo, Kyoto).