LURF GALLERY is pleased to announce the holding of a solo exhibition by artist Aika Nagano entitled "Falling in the Gap."
Nagano has interpreted the "space" (ma), or white space in Japanese painting, as light, and depicted it as the "ground" of the painting. Not only the overlapping of time and the penetration of light, but also the air floating around the shapes and even the emotions submerged in the silence quietly emerge from this ground.
This exhibition focuses on the delicate spaces known as "Awai" - the spaces between objects, people, time and memory - and depicts the beauty hidden in the everyday, the subtle changes in light, and the overlapping presence of time.
Please come and experience the subtle lingering feeling that emerges between light and shadow, shape and white space. The exhibition will run from Saturday, June 21st to Sunday, July 27th, 2025.
Exhibition overview
Nagano Aika Solo Exhibition "Falling in the Gap"
Dates: Saturday, June 21st to Sunday, July 27th, 2025
Venue | LURF GALLERY 1F
Time｜11:00 - 19:00
Address: Roob1, 28-13 Sarugakucho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0033
Admission | Free
*Exhibited works will be for sale
Statement
Something is always quietly floating on the boundary between inside and outside.
The wind blowing between us, the humidity, the flickering light, and the smell of the changing seasons.
I want to express an ambiguous existence that the body and senses react to at unexpected moments.
In this work, I have attempted to turn areas that have traditionally been considered blank into light, creating an expression that evokes a sense of calm and nostalgic memories.
Not only the subject being depicted, but the seemingly empty space around it also emerges as part of the painting.
Using the concepts of composition and light source found in Japanese painting as a guide, I would like to explore depictions that leave quiet traces between the inside and outside of the picture plane.
Installation Views
Artworks
profile
Aika Nagano |
Born in Urayasu City, Chiba Prefecture in 1995
Graduated from Tokyo University of the Arts, Faculty of Fine Arts, Department of Painting, Oil Painting major, in 2022
2024 Completed the 4th Oil Painting Laboratory, Department of Painting, Graduate School of Fine Arts, Tokyo University of the Arts
[Solo Exhibition]
2025 "eureka!" ERIC ROSE YOKOHAMA COFFEE (Kanagawa)
[Group Exhibition]
2024 "Tokyo University of the Arts Open Archive VIVA" Atre Toride (Ibaraki)
2024 "LURF ANNUAL EXHIBITION 2024 - The Boundary of Sense and Memory" LURF GALLERY (Tokyo)
2024 “Anonymous Drawings” Kunstraum Kreuzberg (Berlin)
The infinite space of "ma" is considered finite.
In Japanese painting, the composition of the picture plane places importance on the "space" between the figure and the white space, but in his own work he regards the space between the white space as light, and focuses on the ground of the picture plane, that is, the "finite space." By giving a white ground as light to the infinite space that was originally untouched, he aimed to capture the artist's sense of flesh, including the subtleties of time, humidity, seasons, etc. Rather than leaving the space and distance between things as they are on the canvas, by painting in white the space that at first glance seems infinite is illuminated by light and transformed into something finite.
The light of the ground influences the figure, and the relationship between the two becomes richer, expressing the lingering impression of space harmonizing with the object.
Instagram｜ @aika_nagano