At the most basic level of classification, most paintings can be assigned to one of two broad but fairly clear-cut categories: representational or abstract. This is to say that what appears on the canvas has generally evolved either from people, places or things found in the real world; or from ideas and feelings conjured up in the artist's imagination and expressed through colors and forms.
I say "generally" because, of course, there are exceptions to any rule. Take Kyoko Murase.
Born in Gifu Prefecture, Murase did her postgraduate studies at the Aichi Prefectural University of Fine Art, which counts among its alumni Yoshitomo Nara, internationally regarded as one of Japan's top contemporary art figures. Like Nara, Murase moved to Germany soon after leaving school. She has lived in Frankfurt for the last 13 years.