Junko O'Neill

Junko O’Neill is a Japanese artist based in Winchester, UK. Her work is inspired by the Japanese aesthetic principle of Ma, often translated as “gap,” “pause,” or “the space between.” Ma conveys far more than emptiness; it invites us to notice the space and time around us—moments of silence and stillness that carry their own energy. In O’Neill’s paintings, space and time are intertwined: space is perceived through the flow of time, and time is felt through the spaces we inhabit.

Unlike traditional minimalist expressions of Ma, O’Neill builds her surfaces with layers of colour and careful brushwork, creating subtle rhythms and movement. Her paintings evoke quiet moods and atmospheres that are sensed rather than directly seen—moments of calm and tension that seem to linger in the air.

A central element of her process is Iwaenogu, traditional Japanese pigments made from ground rock. Their soft, matte tones add depth and a sense of stillness. Layer by layer, these pigments build surfaces that hold both space and time, transforming traditional materials into contemporary abstract works.

O’Neill’s paintings explore transience and the delicate balance between presence and absence. They invite viewers to pause, reflect, and experience ...

2009 MA Fine Art Painting, Winchester School of Art, University of Southampton
2008 BA Fine Art Painting, Winchester School of Art, University of Southampton

[Solo Exhibitions]
2025 Miscellany, Peggy Jay Gallery, Burgh House, London
2025 Lucky Cat Mayfair by Gordon Ramsay, London
2025 Colours of Silence, Gallery Mar, Tokyo, Japan
2023 Homewards, Gallery Mar, Tokyo, Japan
2023 Monyou, Peggy Jay Gallery, Burgh House, London
2022 Strata, Peggy Jay Gallery, Burgh House, London
2019 Colours of Rocks, Willis Museum and Sainsbury Gallery, Basingstoke
2015 Bijoux, The Jam Factory, Oxford
2014 Interlude, The Coningsby Gallery, London
2013 Fragments of Time, GV Art gallery, Marylebone, London

[Selected Group Exhibitions & Open Submissions (OS)]
2025 Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours (RI) 213th Exhibition (OS), Mall Galleries, London
2024 Flux Exhibition (OS), Marylebone, London
2024 Rebirth and Regeneration, The Bulb, Southampton
2024 A Post Card from Japan, Fine Art Consultancy, London
2023 Summer Show, Fine Art Consultancy, London
2023 Summer Exhibition (OS), The Gallery at Green and Stone, London
2023 Works on Paper 2023 (OS), The Gallery at Green and Stone, London
2020 Identity, ArtMoorHouse, Moor House, London
2019 Autumn Exhibition, Ecart Paris, Paris
2018 Ashurst Emerging Artist Gallery Winter Exhibition (juried), London
2017 Inspired by the Word (OS), ...