Nozomi Karanihara’s paintings are impressive for their large eyes that seem to gaze at the viewer. Having been familiar with Rubens and other Old Master paintings as a child, as well as manga and video games such as “Shonen Jump” and “Dragon Quest,” Karanihara has focused on the “story” that traditional Western painting and Japanese entertainment culture have in common, and has continued to paint works that combine history and modernity. In 2021, he was awarded the Special Prize at the 24th Taro Okamoto Award for Contemporary Art Exhibition. His works are in the collections of the Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art (now the Kyoto Kyocera Museum of Art) and the Tokushima Prefectural Museum of Modern Art, and his reputation as an artist of the new generation is growing.
In this new work, he focuses more on the human figure under the theme of “Trickster. Along with a large scale (100mm) work, the exhibition also features a number of drawings depicting various characters. We hope you will enjoy the portrait of the “Trickster,” which allows each viewer to weave his or her own story. During the exhibition, in addition to gallery talks, the artist himself will give commentary on the works every weekend, offering tips on how to read and understand the paintings and how to enjoy art in a more casual way.
