岡本順子 / 菊池玲生 / 小林繭乃 / 下山直紀 / 瀬戸優 / 辻 宣 / 堀内マキコ / 三平硝子 / MEG

MEG
Born in Kanagawa in 1992.

Her work explores the gap between outward and inner emotions,
conceiving human feelings as layered structures of surface and depth.

By combining animal silhouettes with artificial emoji-like smiles,
she visualizes the dissonance between socially constructed expressions and internal states.

Her work questions emotional perception and the unconscious biases that shape how we see others.

Reo Kikuchi
Completed his PhD at Tokyo University of the Arts.
Currently serves as an educational research assistant at the same institution.

His work reconfigures historical pictorial images,
examining the act of seeing itself.

Focusing on how painting is perceived and functions,
he explores the possibility of painting as something that emerges through its relationship with the viewer.

Mayuno Kobayashi (b. 1993, Aichi, Japan) completed her MFA in Japanese Painting at Joshibi University of Art and Design.
Grounded in the techniques of traditional Japanese painting, she transforms emotions and memories drawn from everyday life into images of animals and imaginary creatures.
Through these playful and approachable motifs, Kobayashi projects the complexities of human emotion and inner experience, weaving together personal memories and cultural influences to create a distinctive visual world.
In 2024, she held her first solo exhibition, A Delightful Abyss, at SHIKISAISHA and received the ONE ART AWARD 2024.

Yu Seto (b. 1994, Odawara, Kanagawa, Japan) graduated from the Department of Sculpture at Tokyo University of the Arts and completed his MFA in Sculpture at the same university. Drawing on his interest in natural science, he creates sculptures of wild animals, primarily using terracotta. By leaving traces of his touch and the sculpting process visible on their surfaces, Seto explores the structures and movements of living beings and the essence of their existence. In addition to exhibiting in Japan and internationally, his practice extends across disciplines, including collaborations in fashion and design.

Junko Okamoto
Born in Kanagawa in 1972.

Her work explores the weight of material and the beauty of weathering,
capturing traces of time within the surface.

By layering plaster and repeatedly soaking it with pigments,
she creates surfaces that evoke a sense of duration and mass.

In her pencil drawings, she builds up marks through repeated acts of drawing and erasing,
resulting in images that balance delicacy and strength.

Naoki Shimoyama
Born in Gunma in 1972.
Completed his MFA in sculpture at Tama Art University.

Working primarily in wood carving, he creates sculptures based on animal forms.

Defining his works as “self-portraits in sculpture,”
he projects his inner thoughts and emotions onto animal figures, developing a distinctive sculptural language.

With refined craftsmanship and a strong physical presence,
his works evoke an existential sense of being, reflecting a deep contemplation of human existence and society.

Shoko Mihira
Born in Tokyo in 1979.

His work explores a unique world of monsters, shaped by inner emotions and personal experiences drawn from everyday life.

Using burner-work techniques, he melts and forms glass tubes into intricate shapes,
encasing liquids and threads to visualize an internal world.

Both humorous and enigmatic, his creatures evoke a distinct sense of narrative and lingering presence.

Born in Kanagawa, based in Ibaraki. Works primarily with sculpture.
Drawing on the concept of “marebito” in Japanese folklore, she explores contemporary human figures and modes of communication, connecting traditional beliefs with influences from tokusatsu, anime, and Japanese subculture.